Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia, 44(4) 2001

Issue:

VOL 44(4) 2001

Keywords:

Acari, house dust mites, allergenic mites, Poland, Upper Silesia, Pyroglyphidae, Dermatophagoides, Euroglyphus, Gymnoglyphus, Hirstia, coal-mine dust, nests of synanthropic birds, farming environments, rodents’ nests, organic dust, allergy, atopy, mite allergens

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Pyroglyphidae (Acari: Astigmata) in Poland. Distribution, biology, population ecology and epidemiology

• Krzysztof SOLARZ

Abstract:

This paper gives a faunistic review of the pyroglyphid mites that have actually been recorded in Poland in dwellings, lofts and attics, hospitals, libraries, coal-mine offices, research institutes and other public places, in coal-mines, in farming environments (barns, cowsheds, byres, stables, poultry houses), and in natural environments such as birds’ nests. Lofts, coal-mine offices, an archive and a police department were analysed for the first time for occurrence of house dust mites. Results are presented in tables and discussed with the literature data. A total of 25,295 mite specimens were isolated and identified, including 13,340 members of the family Pyroglyphidae (52.74% ). Six species of pyroglyphid mites have been recorded: Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, D. farinae, D. evansi, Hirstia chelidonis, Euroglyphus maynei and Gymnoglyphus longior. D. farinae was the predominant species in dwellings, followed by D. pteronyssinus and E. maynei. H .chelidonis was found in house dust samples, E. maynei in mice nest, D. pteronyssinus in coal-mine dust and debris, and G. longior in byres and barn debris. H. chelidonis was the predominant species in nests of Hirundo rustica, Delichon urbica, Passer domesticus and Turdus spp., whereas D. evansi was found numerously in nests of Parus sp. and Sylwia sp. For the first time in Poland, the sex, age structure, annual dynamics of populations of the pyroglyphid dust mite species, and fluctuations in levels of the mite allergens were investigated at three sites (couch, carpet and two upholstery arm-chairs) from the bedroon of the flat in Sosnowiec (Upper Silesia). Moreover, additional experiments were conducted to determine the dynamics of the laboratory population of the dust mite Dermatophagoides farinae.