Exterminator-mites (Acari: Dermanyssidae) on the giant Madagascar hissing-cockroach

Predation on immature stages of cockroach parasites by adult female hissing-cockroach mites, Gromphadorholaelaps schaeferi (Till), was observed in isolation vials and on actual adult cockroaches, implying that mites benefit the host cockroach by acting as exterminators. Of interest is that effective extermination is linked to this mite's life history pattern and genetic system, and their occurrence as the sole mite species on the cockroach is based on heterochrony. Preliminary results suggest that mites do not benefit the cockroach by acting as fungivores. Until now it was thought that mites benefited only from this partnership (cockroach saliva=mite food). This study is the first to report that mites benefit the hissing-cockroach.