On the morphology, biology, and distribution of Lobogynioides andreinii (Acari, Mesostigmata, Diplogyniidae)

Mesostigmatic mites Lobogynioides andreinii (Berlese, 1910) are reported for the first time from Eastern Europe (Ukraine: Odessa and Zakarpattia Provinces, Crimea) and Caucasus (Russia: Krasnodar Territory). The generic confinedness of this species needs clarification. The family Diplogyniidae is mentioned for the fauna of Ukraine for the first time. Adult mites were found on adults of Hololepta plana (Sulzer, 1776) (Coleoptera, Histeridae) and on larvae of Cucujus sp. (Coleoptera, Cucujidae) and Pyrochroa sp. (Coleoptera, Pyrochroidae) under the bark of poplar (rarely, alder). The juvenile stages of L. andreinii obtained in the laboratory are described for the first time. In the laboratory, beetles H. plana and mature L. andreinii were fed on drosophilid larvae. Adult L. andreinii mites, phoresing on H. plana, demonstrate kleptoparasitic behavior, consuming part of prey of their beetle hosts. The juvenile stages of L. andreinii are free living predators; in the laboratory, they feed on nematodes. The development of L. andreinii from egg to adult takes 48–60 and more days at 18–22°C. The phoresy of L. andreinii is characterized as an obligatory ecoethological phoresy according to Camerik (2009); H. plana is the preferable host of L. andreinii.