Seasonal dynamics in the numbers of parasitic bugs (Heteroptera, Cimicidae): a possible cause of roost switching in bats (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae)
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2007 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Parasitology Research |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Zoology |
| Keywords | bugs Cimex bats roost switching |
| Description | The objective of the present paper is to extend the knowledge of roosting strategies of bats and the interaction of bats with their roost ectoparasites, the bat bugs Cimex pipistrelli. The project was focussed on potential causality of bat movements and the variation in bug numbers. For two years, three model bat boxes with breeding female P. pygmaeus were monitored inside floodplain forest. In May, after the arrival of bats, adults and first instars of bugs were observed in the boxes. During the lactation period in June, when the bats did not occupy the roosts, the first instar bugs died out followed by the adults. The decrease in bug numbers began only several days after the bats had left the boxes. After a month of the bats absence, the abundance of adult bugs decreased by half of their number. Only the eggs survived the period when the roosts were unoccupied in summer. In mid-July, after the arrival of lactating females, an increase in the number of bugs was observed. At the beginning of August, however, no new eggs were found. Although adult C. pipistrelli are able to survive the winter period in the boxes, the bats, by shifting the roosts within the vegetation season, prevent the massive reproduction of these parasites. |
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