SHORT COMMUNICATION
Preliminary Studies on Storage Mites in Litter
and Animal Fodder Collected from Farm
Buildings in Northwestern Poland
Łukasz Henszel, Elżbieta Kalisińska, Danuta I. Kosik-Bogacka, Wanda Kuźna-Grygiel
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Department of Biology and Medical Parasitology, Pomeranian Medical University,
Powstańców Wielkopolskich 72, 70-111 Szczecin, Poland
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2011;20(3):795-800
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
The aim of our study was to determine the acarofauna composition in litter and animal fodder samples
taken from farm buildings in northwestern Poland. Mites were isolated from the samples using Berlese-
Tüllgren extractors. Fifty-five samples were collected from 45 premises, including 16 hen houses, 13 pigsties,
12 barns, 3 cowsheds, and the laboratory animal house of the Pomeranian Medical University. In 43 samples
(78.2%) were collected 1,343 specimens that belonged to the orders of Astigmata, Prostigmata, and
Mesostigmata. In most samples the following taxa were observed: Lepidoglyphus destructor (72.3%),
Cheyletus sp. (52.7%), Acarus siro (41.8%), and Tyrophagus putrescentiae (40.0%). Among these taxa, the
mites of known allergen importance were L. destructor, A. siro complex, and T. putrescentiae, and also
Glycyphagus domesticus, Tyrophagus longior, and Chortoglyphus arcuatus (although these were much less
frequent in the examined samples). The greatest taxonomic richness was observed in fodder samples from the
university animal house and samples from hen houses, and the smallest in cowshed litter. The results confirmed
the high incidence of storage mites in the examined farm buildings.