Artificial feeding of northern fowl mites, Ornithonyssus sylviarum (Canestrini and Fanzago) (Acari: Macronyssidae), through membranes

A new device and technique are described for the in vitro feeding of northern fowl mites, Ornithonyssus sylviarum (Canestrini and Fanzago). The device consisted of a glass cylinder 25 mm in length and in outside diameter, capped with a chick skin membrane at one end and a snap-cap with a wire cloth window at the other end. Maximum feeding by northern fowl mites on warmed heparinized chicken blood occurred after 60 min and at a blood temperature range of 36-42 C. Skin membranes prepared from 1-wk-old chicks gave significantly higher feeding rates than those from 4-wk-old chicks, but unfrozen skins and skins frozen up to 4 wk were equally effective. Also, mites fed equally well through white leghorn and broiler chick skin membranes. About 80% of northern fowl mites fed. The in vitro technique described simplifies the approach to studies of northern fowl mite biology and physiology.