4G
« « * * * « « * « « * PAHT II * « • « • • • « «
* * 2. PART I I - FIELD STUDIES
2.1 DESCRIPTION OF THE STLJDY AREA AM) MATERIAL AND ML^THODS;
2.1.1 Study Area;
2.1.1.1 General;
The fie ld studies were carried out between January
1970 and September 1971 at four areas viz. Lonavla-Kharelala,
Paud-Mulshi, Sinhgarh-Panshet and Bhor-Shirgaon areas along the Western Ghats of Poona District, India (Fig. 1 ). A ll are situated in the ghat section of the district receiving heavy rain fall, (Annually;- 660 Him. to 4,700 mm.). They are located at distance ranging from 32 to 96 kms, away from
Poona city,
Leptotrofflbidium (L .) deliense, the Scrub Typhus vector has been known to be distributed all along the
Himalayan foot h ills, eastern India, Madhya Pradesh and
Western Ghats of Maharashtra and Mysore (Audy 1953-a ; Kalra,
1947 and 1952). The above distribution range included a small area at Khandala in Poona D istrict. Thus the area selected for the present study was already known to have this species of mite.
2.1.1.2 Physical features;
Poona District in Maharashtra state lie s between
170 54 » and 19° 24' North latitudes and 73° 19' and 75° 10' 48
East longitudes (Fig, 2). It has an area of 9,644 sq. kms. with a total population of 3,172,000 (1971, Census), The district is roughly tr|^1|ngular in shape and extends about
208 kms. West to East and 128 kms. North to South with its base in **Sahyadri** mountains on the Kest and its apex in the extreme South-West corner, near the point of confluence o f
Bhima and Nira rivers. The elevation of the study areas ranges between 650 mts, to 1,270 mts, above sea level at the western boundary and gradually fa lls to 580 to 450 mts. in the eastern most sections of the district.
In the gradual change from the rough h illy West to the bare open East, the district forms three belts vi^, western, central and eastern belts. The western belt whore the present work has been carried out, is 16 to 32 kms. wide along the east of the escarpment and is locally known as
”Maval" or Sunset land. It is extremely rugged, a series of steppes or table lands cut on everyside by deep winding valleys and divided and crossed by mountains and h ills . From the valleys, numerous streams whose water is drained into small rivers flow towards the eastern slope of the d istric t.
Rivers Kukadi, Ghod, and Bhima from the northern part of the district flow towards the South-East. Rivers Indrayanl,
Mula-Mutha and Nira from siiuthern part flow towards East,
All drain into main river, Bhbca, which ultimately flows 49
into the Krishjia>one of the great rivers of India, draining
into the Bay of Bengal.
The actual study areas are in the valleys of Mula-Mutha and Nira rivers. The Mula-Mutha river arise at the south of
Bhor Ghat of Khandala area, flows into central belt of the district and to the East. River Nira, has its source in Bhor
Taluka at the base of Varanda Ghat, flows North-East and both
these rivers join river Bhima at the South-East comer of the
d istrict.
The soil conditions varies considerably but the so il
is mainly derived from the decomposed laterite rocks, such as
Manjrya stone, crj’’stal stones and line stones, which form the geological cap on the entire area. In majority of the areas there is cmch denudation and deposition during the monsoon
covering the lands by fertile alluvial soil.
2.1.1.3 Climate:
The entire area of Poona District is influenced by
the rains of South-West monsoon. Seasons sharply differ as
dry and wet. The rainfall occurs mainly between June and
September with occasional premonsoon showers in the months
o f April and May. Some precipitation may occur in December
and January by the unusual activity of North-East monsoon.
The rest of the year is dry. r)0
'£he year may be roughly divided into three seasons:
1, Spring and dry-hot season ...... March to mid June
2* Wet i&onsooa season ...... Hid June to mid October
3. Dry-cool season ...... Mid October to February
The average annual rain fall in the district varies from 660 mm, to 4,700 mmu However rain fall is heaviest in western region and gradually decreases towards the eastern region.
The atmosphere is satuarated with moisture through out the day during monsoon months, particularly on the rainy da,’\n?» In the period November to February, the days remain dry (R.H, 23-40^) but the nights may become comparatively humid due to heavy dewfall or fog (R.H. 64-75 %), March,
April and May are the driest months (R.H. 20-58 $) of the year (Tables 3 and 4),
From the point of view of rain falls the district may be divided into three regions.
1, The western h illy region with high rainfall
(2,500-4,700 mm. per year); 2* The intermediate region of moderately undulant area hiroken by isolated h ills and having a moderate rain fall (750-1,250 mm. per year); 3. The eastern plateau with low rainfall (less than 750 mm, par year).
The actual rainfall in millimeters by months from
January 1970 to December 1971 and mean rain fall by months for several years in ihe different lo calities, Poona, Lonavla,
Khandala, Paud (Mulshi area) and Bhor are given in Tables
1 and 2« It can be seen from the tables that Lonavla and
Khandala are under firs t category with heavy ra in fa ll; Paud
(Hulshi area)is under second category with moderate rainfall and Poona and Bhor in third category with lass rainfEdl area,
Tho mean maximum and minimum temperatures by months for several years (1931-1960) and actuals for the period
January 1970 to December 1971 fo r the Poona city (the nearest point from where reliable data are available) are given in
Tables 3 and 4, The monthly mean maximum temperature during
the hottest month (May) goes up to 42°C and the monthly mean miniittuta temperaturo in the coldest month (December) goes down to 6,6°C. In 1970 and 1971 i.e, during the actual period of the study the mean maximum temperatares in April and May were between 36 to 38^C. The lowest teoi>eratures were in December
and January (6,6 to 11,2°C), The daily range of temperature
is large during dry months April and May and SBiall during post monsoon months, September and October, The monthly minimum temperatures during the coldest months rarely goes below 3.6“C,
2.1,1*4 yegetation:
The forest types in the study area are mainly scrub. 52
thorny deciduous, dry deciduous, moist deciduous and semi-evergreen. (Gaaeteer of Bombay State, 1954; Puri, 1960).
Scnib is mainly found on lower elevations of the study areas. The pi^dcualnant species found in such areas are
‘ Bor* ( Zizyphus jujuba), 'Pclati* (Acacia latronum). ’Nephtad'
( Dichrostachys cinerea) 'Hinganbet' ( Balanites roxburghii)
’Vagati' ( Capparis apKvHa). ’Karawand* ( Carissa congesta) are the typical species. In some pockets ’Babul' Acacia catechu also occurs as a pure crop.
Major portion of the study area is covered by deciduous forests of different types. Certain species are frequently dominant and occur quite gregariously over considerable areas. The lower slopes of the hills covered with grass land; 'S alai' ( Boswellla serrata) and 'Dhavada'
(Anogeissus la t ifo lla ) are the predominant grass species found.
Teak (Tectona grandis) remains as an open crop, stunted and chiefly coppice in origin. The forest floor looks green during rainy season and appear^ brown in October to November onwards when it dries. Quite frequently - the grasses and shrubbery on the forest floor get burnt during the hot dry months, a characteristic feature of the land scape of this region during that part of the year.
The tropical serai-evergreen forest type which occurs in patches in valleys and along stream courses forms dense 5:i
vegetation of 30-40 feet height with evergreen trees. The predominant species are Salmalia malabarica. Mangifera indica.
Ficus glomeratal Tenainalia tomentosa. Terminalia chebula,
Zizyphus .ju.iubai Eugenia .■jambolana, Diospyros tomentosa etc.
The undergrowth is evergreen and thick with large number of small climbers. Shrubs of Hubiaceae, Acanthacea and
Euphorbiaceae form the bulk of the ground layer of vegetation.
In addition to these several species of monocot shrubs grow along with a t a ll grass, Erianthus ravennae.
2.1.1.5 Associated Faunai
The area is inhabited by a large number of reptiles, birds and large and small mammals which form the host fauna for the mites. Of them only the small mammals are considered to be most important for studying the mite fauna as reported by Traub e^ a l. (1972).
Reptiles, such as coianon j^rden lizard ( Calotes versicolor) , the large land-monitor (Varanus bengalensis) ,
and Indian chamaeleon (Chameleon calcaratus) occur. Snakes
are very common in the western h illy track; the common cobra
(Na.ja na.ia); common rat snake ( Ptyas mucosus) and the saw
scaled viper ( Achis carinatus) are coBimonly found in the
study area.
Some 300 species of birds are found in this district 54
o f which 90 are winter visitors, seen only in between
Septeraber/October and March/April*
A large number of small and large anammals inhabit the area. Common among them are as follows:
Primates: Bonnet monkey (Macaca radiata) and Lungur monkey
(Presbytis entellus) .
Insectivora; Indian house shrew ( Suncus murinns) and Indian
tree shrew ( Tupaia sp .).
Carnivora; Asiatic Jackal ( Canis aureus), IncJiaa fcx
( Canis benralensis) , Indian grey mongoose
( Herpestes edwarsii) , Jungle Cat ( Felis chaus)
and Toddy Cat (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus). The
Tiger ( Panthera t ig r is ) which used to be ccmmon,
has now a days became very scarce.
Artiodactyla; Wild boar ( Sus scrofa) and Spotted dear (Axis
axi-s).
Chiropterai Many species of mega and micro-chiroptera,
praainently Pteropws gigeoteus and Steusettus
leschenaulti ,
Lagemorpha: Black-naped hare (Lepus n ig ric o llis).
Rodentia: Indian porcupine ( Itystrix leucura). Common giant
squirrel ( liutufa indica). Jungle three striped
squirrel ( Funambulus tristriatu s) , White bellied
rat (Rattus rattus satarae), Blanford's rat 5rj
( Rattua blanfordi) , Grey bellied rat ( Rattua
rattus rufescens) , Little Indian fie ld racHioe
( Mus boodu^a) , Spiny mouse ( Mua platythrix),
Indian mole rat ( Bandicota ben^aleRsis) , Ind.l&n
bush rat ( Bandicota indilca) and Indian gerbil
(Tatera indica).
2.1.1.6 Sociology;
A large area in the district is under cultivation,
Evan iri the western hilly region, many aroas in foot hills of h ill ranges have been cleared fo r cultivetion. The villagers are primarily agriculturists. Among the indigsn'^s population are Katkaris, Kolis and Thakaras who l i ’^e very close to the forests. They live in small huts made of mud and stone walls and with a tl^ched grass roof. The hots aggregatod into small villages and henlets situated on high ground. Two crops are grown in a year viz. "Kharif" in the monsoon period and
"Rabi” in the post monsoon period, Tho main crops in the areas are rice, jawar, bajara, ground nut, cotton, sugarcane and certain pulses. The villagers keep cattle, buffalos, goats etc. and the grazing is done usually in the forest areas.
The villagers very frequently enter the jungle for various activities. They are mostly bare-footed and their legs are exposed up to knee. 5G
2,1,1.7 Brief description of the fotir study areast
Following aro the brief descriptiom'of the four study areas (Figs. 1 to 3).
1, Lonavla-Khandala area (Figs. 4 to 7 )j This area lie s at a distance of about 70 loas, oa the North West of Poona city.
It Is situated on the escarpment of the "Sahyadri” mountains
(Western Ghats) at an elevation between 650 to 680 meters above sea level. It is surrounded bv patches of tropical seiai-evergreen and deciduous forests. The slopes are well wooded, chiefly comprising of trees like Salmalia malabarica
Ficus g1 rnnerata. Ficus benealensis, Terminal.ia tomentosa,
^Moenta jarubclina, Mangifera indica etc, interspersed with thick shrubs and climbers. The undergrowth is thick with grass and herbs. At some pieces small patches of evergreen forests have been cleared for cultivation. The forest floor is covered by a thick layer of lit t e r ,
Mulshi area (Figs. 8 to 10): This area lie s at a distance of 54 to 60 kms, on the West of Poona city. It is a shallow valley on the river "Mula" end is situated at an elevation of
650 to 680 meters above sea level. There are two h ill ranges,
Mandvi on the le ft bank and Tamhini on tho right bank of the river# The study was concentrated on the right bank only.
The localities selected for the purpose of ccilections were
Paud, D isli, Mulsbl, Mulshi-Hhui'd, Conaudi and Falts. A ll are o {
situated at a distance of five to ten Jujis. frtuj each other
In the mountanect.s terrain. Hoot o f the vegetation cons *^ts o f thorny dry and moist deciducHis foi'osts. On the lower levels senib predominates. The scrt'.b is comprised of Carlsu caranda, Zityphus sp., and cccasionrJJy itoru^ indica.
I-entann pciile^ita etc. Lnterspersed aMong forest patches are
SOTO col tin te d lands.
2 , Sinhgarh ar«ia (Figs. 11 to 14): A mountaneous area situated at a distance of lais. to tl-« South West of Poona city. The top portion on the h ill range (Arabia) is a fla t tableland with a fort at the top. It is surrounded by vertical rock c liffs on three sides and gradually sloping down on one side towards East, At the foothills there are certain localities viz, Atkarwadi, idanerwadi, Muse and the collections were made in these lo calities as well as in the fort area. Inside the fort is a small plateau about one sq.km, in ai*ea and at an elevation of l,2'/'0 rats. There are a few scattered human owellings and a number of water reserviors with peremial springs. The vegetation is of deciduous and dry deciduous type which gives it a lush green appearence during monsoon but remains dry in summer. On the slopes, tho forest consists of Tectona grandis. Ficus glcmerata.
Acacia catechu etc. The undergrowth is thick with shrubs and climbers and thick tall grass all around. The forest slopes and ravines have been cleared for cultivation. area (Fl^s. 15 to 18): The area lies at a distance
of 60 to 100 teas. South Kest of Poooa city on the Nira river basin. The elevation varies from 620 to 980 meters. The highest elevation reachf's at the "Varanda” ghat to the Kest
(?80 mty). Or* both sides of the valley there is a semi-evergreen, deciduous and scn;b forest with a thick undergrowth of grass and shrtibs. Their distinctions are rather d iffic u lt on account
of the presenc' in Datchos oj* groups of species characteristic
of a ll the th?^G types. Species like X.vlia ar<(.i. Ien.*irmlia aiark tha demarcation between sewi-evergreen and deciduous
foro-sta. Nlg-jc.hgarh, Kirdoshi and Shirgaon, t’ls localities
taken fer the studj’^ purposes, lie along a 40 kms, strip in the
valley. T’r-e work was c&Yried out on both sides of the river.
Paddy is mostly cultivated in tho monsoon season.
2.1.2 Material and Hethoda:
2.1.2.1 Collection of hosts;
"Sherman Traps'*:
Collections of troanbicalid mites were made frcrni the
bodies of ttieir vertebrate hosts* Therefore the major field
activity consisted of the collections of hosts by trapping,
for wnicU "Sheritan traps'* vera found to be highly satisfactory.
The Sherman trap is a light weight collapsible trap made up
of alumiftiuBi sheets, fhen set up, it has a rectangular box
typo shape (23 uuk. x 9 cn-s. x 33 cms.). There are two 5!)
shutters, one at each end working by a special spring action.
One of the shutters is kept open when set for trapping an
aniaal. The small iaaimi the shutter closes and the animal is caught alive in the trap (Figs. 19A, 19B). The bait used consisted of ’pakoras’, made out of a mixture of 'fasan' (powdered Bengal gram) and potatoes or onions and then fried in edible o il. Rodents and shrews are attracted by the above bait when put in the Sheman traps. Trapping o f small mammals; Rodents and shrews were trapped by means of the above described traps and bait from the four different areas v iz. Lonavla-Khandala, Mulshi, Sinhgarh and Bhor areas. The areas have been described in a previous chapter. In each area trapping was done in three different typos of environments viz, i) Forest area; ii) Cultivated lands; iii) Domestic and peridomestic areas. Usually these types of environments were in close proximity with each other and thus the fauna of these ai^as overlapped to a certain extent. The field progx*aime consisted of long to.mi obseivations in the different studir areas during the period January 1970 to September 1971, i,e . for 21 montlis. Trapping was conducted once in a month sequentially in the study areas. Normally 60 baited traps, 20 in each t^^e of onv’^ironr.iont were set in the evening, Cara was taken to set up the tx'aps near rodent holes, GO near gremaries, or in other rodent inhabitated areas where rodent tracks were seen in vegetable gardens in peridomestic areas, jungles, cultivated lands etc. The traps were set in the evening well before sunset and were collected in the early morning and brought to the laboratory. 2,1*2«2 Collection of trombiculid mites from trapped animals; Soon after the traps were brought to the laboratory, each trapped animal was transferred individually into a plastic bag COTitaining a cotton swab soaked with chloroform. When the animals were lightly anaesthetised they were placed on a white enamel trey. This tray was put in another larger tray containing water to avoid the escape of trombiculid mites and other ectoparasites. The animal was then examined for the presence of trombiculid mites as well as other ectoparasites. Only the results of the study of the trombiculid mites are reported here. The results of study of other ectoparasites are to be reported elsewhere. The trombiculid mites were generally seen in clusters on the body of the animals. The common sites were on inside the ears, ear pinnae,/outer aspects of the thighs, around the anal orifice and teats . . The skin patches bearing these clusters of mites were cut by means of a pair of fine scissors and transferred into 10 m3 . r>i glass vials bearing a tight fitting screw cap. In the meantime whatever mites detached themselves and came out from the host body were also collected by means of a camel hair brush and r were transfei^d into the same vial. The remaining body of the host mammal was then wrapped in a paper tissue towel and kept in a refrigerator, fo r about 12 hours, to allow the remaining mites to detach. The animals wrapped in the tissue towel were again t^Sroughly examined, sometimes brushed by means of a tooth brush or a small hair brush and a ll the trombiculid mites were collected from the host body and transferred into the same sample vial to which it belonged, by means of forceps or with a fine camel hair brush. During the whole procedure, whatever other ectoparasites available on the host body were also collected separately and studied. 2.1.2.3 Preservation of the mites for further study: The vials containing the cut skin patches bearing trombiculid mites in clusters as well as mites collected by other means were subjected to chloroform vapours by means of a cotton swab being held at the mouth of the v ial for about one to tifo minutes inorder to induce the mites to detach fr(Mc the skin patclires. The vials :?ere tightly stoppered for about four to six hours. By doing so, most of the mites got detached without being injured. The vials were then G2 filled with 70 percent ethyl alcohol and preserved at least for a month. By this method a ll the tissues on which mites were present got dehydrated and the mites could be teased out easily from the host skin tissues to which they were attached. The teasing was done under a stereoscopic binocular microscope with the help of fine needles. The mites tlius separated from-the rest of the tissues, fur et, of the host were counted individually and preserved in the Same v ia l in a fresh 70 percent alcohol for further study. 2*1•2*4 Records: The name of locality fron whara tha animals vara trapped, data cf collscticn, site for attachments of mitas on tha host and other ralevent ecological data were raccrded in the fie ld book as wall as on the arthropod cards used in the laboratory. The proforma of the card Is given (Page, 6 3 ), Teritftiva identifications of the bests wera laiTieliately made and recorial. For confinning tha identity of tha hosts, a fe» repr’esentative dry skins aad skulls of tha specimens were praservad. These specimens were later identified with the help of keys by Ellerman (1941, 1961) end Agarwal (1970). 2.1.2.5 Mounting of trombiculid mites for identification! Mounting medium: The mites were mounted in Hoyer’ s medium (Gum-Chloral) G3 P8DP0RMA USED FOR RECORDLVG COLLECTION DATA. Nc. A 96395 TOWN: VUIAGK: DISTRICT: NATITRE OF I DATE: COLLECTION j( ' TEiE: HOST (IF ANY) ARIhRUPODS COLILCTED LARVA ^aLE FEiLiLE TOTAL PUPA COLLECTED BY: IDENTIFIED BY; CHECKED BY; (OVER NOTES; POOLS TO jUATE: NO. 64 according to tha forsiula of Baircr and Wharton (1952). It is Composed of a mixture of digtillsd water (50 m l.), gum arahic (30 ga .), Chloral hydrata (2G0 gn.) and glycerine(20 m l.). In tha present study tills medium i^as slightly modified. Sugar has replaced glycarLia, by vfhich the mounting mediiim cn the slides get dried up faster, Thenty gras.s of glucosa »;are dissolved in £0 t.l, cf d istille d water in a conical flask. Guai arabic was added with other ingradiants and the flask vas kepi tightly stoppered for thi'ee to four days t i l l the guai ar'abic vas dissolved. Ine mixture was filtered tlirough khatman's No, 1. filt e r paper. The filtered medium was used for mounting the trombiculid mites. Mountirig technique; The mites were mounted dorso-ventrally in the medium individually on clean glass slides under coverslips. Xhe slides were kept for drying at least for eight days. In some of the specimens the edges of the coverslips wete sealed by means of colourless nail polish after drying. Xhe sealed specimens could be preserved peniuxnently for the purpose of detailed taxonomical studies. Often the nuiaber of mites from a host was more tlu'.n 2,000, It was impossible to mount a ll the mites when the number was large. In such cases only 25 mites were or selected at random. The v ia l was gently tilted up and down for a minute auid 25 mites were taken out and mounted. I f the sample consisted of less than 25 mites, a ll the mites were mounted fo r identification. 2.1.2.6 Identification of trcmbieulid mites; The classification of mites formulated by Wharton et a l, (1951) has been followed upto family and subfamily level, Womersley's classification (1952) has been generally followed for identifying most of the species reported here, Vercammen-Grandjean’ s (1960, 1968) classification for Trombiculinae with diagnostic characters and figures was also immense value in determining the genus and subgenus of most of the species. Papers published by Audy (1953), Traub and Audy (1953), Traub and Evans (1953), Traub and Morrow (1955), and Audy and Tfomersley (1957) were also consulted for determining the identity of several species. Some of the recent papers by Joshee (1964), Nadchatram and Joshee (1966), Nadchatram and Traub (1966), Nadchatram (l970-b), Traub and Lakshana (1966), Vercaramen-Grandjean (1966) and Vercammen-Grandjean et a l, (1966) were also consulted to the extent they could be of use in determining the identity of 8<»ie of the species. References of works have been made at appropriate places where help has been taken. Gfi Preliminary Identifications of all the mounted specimens were made in the laboratory. For confinning the identity of most of the species, representative sample specimens mounted on slides were sent to Hr. H. Nadchatram, Institute for Medical Research, Kaula Lumpur, Malaysia. 67 2.2 RESULTS: 2* 2*1 Studies on small mamiaals: 2*2*1*1 Small manmials collected and their rate of capture in traps at different localities (Tables 5 and 6); During the period of 21 months, January 1970 to September 1971, 904 small mamnals were collected and examined for trombiculid mites. Of these, 900 mamiaals were collected by means of Sherman traps and only four were collected by other methods such as shooting with gun or by k illin g by means of stick. Generally only one animal was caught in each trap; occasions when two animals were caught in a single trap were very rare. 4,940 traps were set in the four different study areas during the study period, of which 898 traps were found positive for small mammals (Table 5), 18,2 percent of traps were found positive. The highest percentage of positive traps was found at Slnhgarit area (23.3^), followed by Bhor (20,5^), Lonavla-Khandala (14,6?J) and Mulshi areas (14,5^). The differences between the four localities could not be due solely to chance ^ X " 49,2 (P < 0,001^, 2.2.1.2 Species of small mammals collected and their abundance (Tables 6 and 7 ); Nine hundred and four animals were captured during the period of 21 months. They belonged to 16 species belonging to three different orders (Table 7 ). They were in the order of abundance as follow s:- 68 Suncus murinus 417 ( Insect ivora) Hus platythrix 155 ( Rodentia) Rattus rattus rufescens 98 M Sattus blanfordi 83 Kus booduga 45 n R^^ttus r. satarao 24 ti Millardia indiea 22 N Mus cervicolor 18 M Fynrmbitlus tri.striatus 12 n Golunda e llio t i 9 n Bandicota bengalonsis 6 If Mus muscuius 4 n Millardia meltada 2 n Tatera iadica 2 ti Bandicota indica 1 » Paradoxurus hermaohroditus 1 (Carnivora) sttisacessM TOTALi P04 «as»ac«»saB Data of monthly fluctuations in the rate of trapping of small mammals at the four different localities for the period January 1970 to September 1971 are presented in Table 6* and Fig, 20, A ll the 21 months provided small mammals in a ll the localities and no month was negative. At Bhor area, trapping was not done in January 1970 and June 1970, There were considerable variations in the numbers captured, by months, between 1970 and the same months in 1971 and between the different areas. The highest and the lowest numbers captured in the different areas were in the following months Locality Highest Lowest 1970 1971 1§71 Lonavla-Ktiandala July August September May area Mulshi area March July January/April February Sinhgarh area May/Nov, July August/Sept. April Bhor area Feb,/October March May Hzy Taking all mammals together no pattern vas noticed in the variations in the rate of capture by seasons and the variations during the two years were not similar. The most predominant species of animals found in large numbers In a ll the four areas were Suncus murinus, Sattus rattus rufescens, Rattus blanfordi and Mus platythrix. The distributif'Ti of Suncus tnurinus which constituted 40,0 percent of all animals collected, in the four regions has also been subjected to y ’^test, the difference has been found significant ( X^“ 328.2653 at 15 d ,f,). This species has contributed most to the variations in the total number of small mammzLLs collected in the four regions. 2,2• 1 • 3 Infestation of small mammals by trccibiculid mites, their number and dlstribttinn (Table 7 ; Fig.3): Six hundred and three animals out of 904 collected 70 were found to be infested by trombiculid mites, 66,7 percent of thaai vi’ere found positive for troubiculid mites during the entire period of stadi'^, (An animal was considered positive when it had even a single inita upon i t ). The species showing the presence of troEibiculid Elites Sre also shoira in Table 7, A ll but one of the 16 species of animals wore positive for tro.abicalid mites at one time or another; the exception was of two specimens of Tatsra indica which did not have any mites on them. The species of aninals showing the infestation by trombiculid mites in the descending order of frequency of infestation (percentages) vrere Millardia indica (95.5), Rattus rattus satarae (91,7), Sun cits murinus (91.6), Bandicote bengalensis (83.3), Rattus rattus refescans (64,3), Golunda e lllo t 1 (55,6), Mus cervicolor (55,6), Mus mnscuius (50,0), Funaabulus tris t r iatus (41,7), Mus booduga (37,8), Mu£ platythrix (27,8) and Rattus blanfordi (27,3) (see Table 7), The data on the infestation of all these animals by trombiculid mites, in all the four areas was put to y?- test and was found highly significant ( X^“ 153,97 at 45 d,f.) indicating the probable existence of differences in the rates of infestations. Though the species, Paradoxurus hemiaphroditus, M illardia laeltada and haudicota liidica showed the presence of mites on them, the nuiribers of animals caught wero too small to draw any conclusion. The species Uillarclia indica, a new species dascribed by Mishra and Dl'anda, 1973 (in press), sns found only at Sinhgarh area and was highly positive for trcnbiculid nites. 71 2.2.1*4 Seasons! variation in the total rste of infestation of small mammals by tr«cbiculid tnites (Table 8 ); The total n-imbar of small niantmals (a ll species) caught and numbers found positive for trcnbiculid mitas in each month durinj the study parioi from a ll the study areas are presented in Table 8, The parceatage infestation of hosts for trorbiculid raites ranged from 35.4 to P I.8 percent in different months. The highest rate of infestation was obser/ed in October 1970 and the lowest was in March 1971. It can be seen from (Fig. 21) that the average percentage of infostatioa decreased frou March to June in 1970 and then increased t i l l October after waicn there was a gradual f a ll icill Hay 1971. Subsequently there was a gradual increase t i l l the end of the studies in September 1971. The general trend was that there was a f a ll in infestation in the warmer aontlis and a rise with the onset of the wet weather (see Tables 3 and 4, Part I I ) . As far as the total rate of infestation in the four areas was concerned, it wae highest at Bhor (73.650 followed by Hulshi (68,3^.) Hinhgarh (62.4J?) and at Lonavla-ICmndrla (56,7^) areas. 2,2,1.5 Season^n variation in the rate of infestation of some of the nrediTninant soacles of host momnals by trowbiculid raites: 1, Sunc'19 murinus (Tabic 9 ). During the study period of 21 montlis 417 shrews were T . l collected from the four areas; of these 382 or 91,6 percent were found positive for trombiculid laites. The highest number was collected from Bhor area (138) followed by Sinhgarh (115), Mulshi (91) and Lonavla-Khandala (73). The percentage infestation was slightly higher at Lonavla-Khandala (97,2?S) and Sinhgarh (93.0^) areas than at Mulshi (89,0^) and Bhor (89, 1^) but the differences are not significant. The rate of infestation in all the four areas, remained high i,e, between 80,0 to 100.0 percent through out the year« 1970 to 1971, except in the month of March (52,6^) and June (76,5/J) in the year 1971, Ko season of the year therefore appeared really adverse to the infestation of this species, 2, Rattus rattus rufescens (Table 10). During the study period, 98 specimens of this species were collected from a ll the four areas. Small numbers were found throughout the period of study but there were some months in each of the localities when the species was not found. In both years, the highest number was collected in July. The highest number was collected from Mulshi area (23 -tve/32), On an average 64,3 percent (63 out of 98) of this species was found positive for mites from all the four areas. The percentage infestation was higher at Lonavla- Khandala (77.7%), Bhor (75.0%) and Mulshi (71.8:^.) areas than at Sirgharb (Ai,A%). Regarding seasonal variation in 73 the rate o f infestation, it was observed that the infestation remained considerably low (i .e , 50.0 percent or less) in ten out of 21 months study. The total absence was noticed in A pril 1970 and again in April, May and June 1971, The number in any one month is too saiall for the percentages to be meaningful. I f three months were grouped together, it is noticed that except in April, May and June 1971 tAepercentages varied frciE 50 to 80 percent. 3. Mu8 platythrix (Table 11). During the study period, 155 specimens of this species were collected frcan all the four areas; of these 45 (29,{^ ) were found positive for the presence of trombiculid mites. The highest number (74) was collected from Sinhgarh area as against 37, 27 and 17 collected in the others. This species is known to prefer rocky terrain. The percentage infestation was however highest at Bhor area (70,0^) followed by Mulshi (44,5/S), Sinhgarh (2 1 .^ ) and Lonavla-Khandala (13,5^) only. The highest rate of infestation was found in August 1970 (87.5J5) but in August, 1971 it was 35,7 percent, though the latter was also the highest in that year, indicating considerable variation from year to year, 4, Rattus blanfordi (Table 12), A total of 88 specimens of this species was collected during the study period from a l l the four areas; of 74 these 25 ( 28,4f^) were found positive for trombiculid mites. The highest number (42) of animals were caught from Lonavla-Khandala area accounting for nearly h alf of a ll specimens collected. In contrast to Mus platythrix the percentage infestation was h ip e st at Sinhgarh (4C.O^) and lowest was at Mulshi (21.4^). There were nanj'^ months during which mite infestation was not found. The numbers collected per month were too small to study any seasonal trends. It is however worth noting that mite infestation has been found in a ll seasons of the year. 2.2.1.6 Rate of infestation by trcanbiculid mites on small maiffiaals in different habitats (Tables 13 a and 13 b): The percentage infestations by trombiculid mites on smeJ.1 mammals in three different types of habitats viz. forest, cultivated lands and domestic/peridcmiestic areas during the study period are presented in Tables 13 a and 13 b. In both years, the forest environment showed a slightly lesser mite infestation of the hosts than the other two types viz, cultivated lands and danestic/ peridomestic ones. The difference has been found to be statistically significant as shown in the table on page 75. 7 !; Distribution of infestation by troaibiculid niitea on sraall maru^ials according to different habitats Year Habitat Infested Not Total ft positive infested 1970 Forest 100 44 144 69,4 tt CJiltivated lands 103 22 125 82.4 n Domestic/ 169 44 213 79.3 peridomestic TOTAL 372 n o 482 (X’--7.3916 for 2 d. f. ) 1971 Forest 54 86 140 38.5 n Cultivated lands 62 43 105 59.0 n Domestic/ 112 62 174 64.4 peridomestic TOT.AL 282 191 419 CX^=22.0246** for 2 d. f.) * * Higfily significant at 5 percent level The infestation rates from month to month have shown the same trends throughout except in a couple of months pointing to the relatively lower mite prevalence in the forest environment. 7G 2.2.1.7 The chigger~index according; to host species (Table 14); The chigger-index is defined as the average number of chiggers per host species (Traub e_t a l. 1967). The total number of mites found on a l l animals from a ll the four different localities, have been counted and the chigger-inclex value for each of the species calculated. The data are presented in Table 14. Accoi^ing to the descending order, the chigger-index values for different host species were as follows; Suncus iiii,:rinus- (257.9), ]lli3.1ardia it'idica (239.8), Millardia meltada (130,5), Rattus rattus satarae (129.6), Bandicota bengalensis (65,0), Rattus rrtlus rufescons (47.4), Rattus hianfordi (18,0), Funambulup tristriatus (17.2), Mus cervicolor (13.9), Golunda ell inti (11,4), Mus plstythrix (6 .6 ), Mus musciilus (6,5) and J-^s boo da;: a (4,6), The index values for Paradoxurus hempohroditus (178.0) and 77 Bandicota indlca (870,0) have not been considered because the number of animals collected were too few to merit any comment. The chigger-index for Tatera indica was zero, but again the number of animals was too small to draw any conclusion. The chigger-index for Suncus murinus varied from 218 to 306,3 in a ll the stulj’ ar?!as, and was higher than that of any other host species collected in the areas. The highest was at Lonavla-Khandala (306.3) follcwtu by binhgarh (274,0), Bhor (245,U) and iiulshi (218,u), Ilillardia indica was collected only front Siahgarh atiu had the second place in chi<^ger-index (239,8), Hattus rattus rufescans and Has platythrix thcugir. cullected in large nuat>ers, had comparatively low chigger indices, viz. 47,4 and 6,6 respecti^'ely. 2.2,1.^ Spacigs of ti'ombiculid mites and their relatitfie prevalfance (Table 15); A check lis t of the mite fauna of India has been provided in Part I. lOY species belonging to 20 genera were hitherto roporttd. In the present survey a total of 36 species belonging to seven genera have been racordsd and tneir relative nrepomieraace has been presented in Table 15, /uaong these, 11 species have been reported earlier, (Pai’t Ij page 2 2 )» and 18 are new to science. In addition to the^e species, seven species are s t i l l undetermined. Among tha new species, four have been described during the course of this study aivd ara 78 included in the lis t . They are L, (L .) sinhgarhense, Ascoschoengastia (i-aurentella) guptai, G. (G ,) khandalaensis and G. ( S *ella) rafflachandrai (Appendix, page 296" ). The rest are awaiting description. 1,25,694 mites were collected and counted but only 12,897 (approximately 10 percent) were actually examined and identified. Among the 36 species identified,present in the study areas, nine species belong to genus Leptotrombidium, one species each to the geneira Trombicula. Blankaartia. herpatacarus, four species to the genus Ascoschoengastia. two to genus Helenicula and 18 to the genus Gahrliepia. The predominant species belong to the genera Leptotrombidium, Gahrliepia. Herpatacarus. Blankaartia and Ascoschoengastia. Among the predcminemt species G. ( S’e lla ) ligula was found in largest numbers and followed by L. (L .) deliense. The predominant species found in descending order of percentages are as follows: G, ( S *ella) ligula (37.16^), L. (L .) deliense (9,94^), L. (L .) sinhgarhense (7.60f.), £. (£ i) n. sp. 2 (5,54Ji), L. (L .) n. sp. 1 (4,50%) near to L, (L .) bhattlpadense Joshee and Nadchatram 1964, A. (A.) sp. 1 (4,35J(), G, (S*ella) punctata (4.30^), H, (£,) longiaetosa (3.0^). The other species were relatively fewer in number. It is worth noting that L, (L .) akamushi was comparatively scarce forming only 0,80 percent of a ll mites examined. 71) Brief comments on the nevrly described species during study period: 1. L. (L. ) sinhgarhense Kulkami, 1973. (Appendix, page ) This new species is very close to L, (L .) scutellare (Nagayo et a l. 1920) and was collected from Rattus rattus nifescense, 8. r. satarae, Millardia indica and Suncus murinus in Sinhgarh, Lonavla-Kbandala, Bhor and Mulshi areas. Diagriosis of larva: Palpal formula li/N/BNS + 7B; claw 3-pronged; galeal seta barbed, Scutux rectangular, mid-portion of posterior margin truncated as figured. Dorsal setae 44 to 48 in number usually arranged in 2,10,10,10,2,6,4; SB slightly anterior to line of PLs, Very close to L. (1.) scutellare (Nagayo ejt a l, 1920) which was redescribed by Traub and Lalcshana (1966) but can be separated by somewhat truncate shape of posterior scutal margin; densely punctate scutum; PSD slightly shorter, 14-lb jua; ALs distinctly shorter 33-45 Consaentt Since this species is very close to L .(L ,) scutellare, a proved vector in Japan (Audy, 1961), its potentiality as a rickettsial vector is worth studying. This specias was present in a ll the four study areas in fa irly large numbers especially from Sinhgarh area. 2, G, ( S 'e lla ) ramachandrai Kulkami, 1973. (Appendix, page 3J3) This species is close to G, ( S 'e lla ) ligula 8(j (Radford, 1946) and was collected from Rattus r. rufescens, Mus boodupa and Suncus murinns in Atkarwadi at Sinhgarti and Lonavla-Khandala, Bhor and Mulsbi areas* Dispmo.sis of larva; Palpal foraula N/n/NNN + 4B, Claw 3-pronged, galenl seta nude. Scutum ligulate but posterior oargin much reduced, terminal portion somewhat square. DS 38-40 in number. HS, DS, YS, and CS in basal discs or platelets. Imitiedlately separable from G. (S .) ligula (Radford, 1946), redescribcd by Homersley (1952) and Traub and Evans (1953), in having posterior margin of scuttsa reduced and HS, VS and CS on discs or platelets and much larger, broador, and more strongly clliate. distinctly longer than PLs (ALs 58-64, PLs 43-48 jtm)] in ligu la ALs 35-43, PLs 38-46 ytun. Sens nine globose. Comment; Since this species is close to G. (S .) ligula a proved vector in India (Kalra, 1959), it might be of importance for rickettsial transmission particularly in India. In the collection, 1.7 percent of the total population of trombiculid mites belonged to this species. 3, G, (G .) khandalaensis Kulkarai, 1973. (Appeiidlx, page 318 ) This species is close to G, (G .) picta Traub and Morrow, 1955, and was collected from a ll the four study areas oil Sracc.s nurinus orJLy. Dia *,nosis of larva; Palpal fomula KyN/KNN + 5B; claw 81 3-prong(*d; galeal seta nude. Scutum broadly tongue shaped; PLs submarginal; usurped setae four pairs, two subraedian and two submarginal. Dorsal setae 28 to 32 in number, arranged in 4,6,4,6(4),2(4),2. Very close to G. (G.) picta Traub and Morrow, 1955, tut readily sepai'able by the following characters; (1) palpal setal foriiala i? b/b/b? Nb + ? in picta; (2) size and shap3 of scutum, being 179 x 92 jxu in picta and 132 x 120 jixm in khand ala easts; (3) position of usurped sstae, all subcedian in picta. Comment; This species vrcs collacted only from Siircus nurinus. Therefore this species seems to be very host-specific. 4, Ascoschoengastia ( L&urentella) gupta i Kulkarni, 1£73. (Appendix, page 3 2 Z ) This species is close to a .(L.) kitajima (Fukuzuki and Obeta, 195S) and A .(L .) sellnicki Audy and Woiterslej', 1957 and was collected on Suncus murinus, Fuiiaubulus iristi iatus. Sattus r. rufescens ana 2attus r. salatae from till the four study areas. Diagnosis of larvat Palpal fomula B/b/MvIB + 6B. Claw 3-pronged. Galeal seta nude. AL shoulders of scutum prominent, PW greater than AW 1,3 x; PW greater than SD 1.35 x. Sensilla long and fusiform with spines. Dorsal setae 34-41 in number, arranged in 2,8(9),0(7-10), 6 (5 -8 ),6 (4 ),2 (4 ),2 , Tarsala I I longer than tarsal a T 1,5 x. Very close to ) 8:- A. (L .) kitajiiaa (Fukuzufci and Obeta 1953) but separable by havTPg fever scutal punctae and dorsolateral seta on palp is nude (N)f not terbed. It is also close to A.(L.) sellnicki Audy and Komerslcy, 1957 but differs from it by having more number of dorsal setae 34 to 41 in number; palpo genual seta barbed; tarsala iX longer and fj.' and PLs are distinctly arjiller than in sel Inicki. Comseril; This species was cosKJ.only found oii huncus natrinus as corqsared tc other host species. 2.2.1.9 Percentage infestation by various species of troabiculid mites by months during the study period (Tables 16 and 17); The percentage monthly infestation of a ll the 36 species thrwighout the period of the study is presented in Table 16. The number of species of mites found in the different months of the study was as follow s!- January - 1970 12 February N 17 March N 18 April H 19 May It 11 June N 14 July H 16 August N 16 8 a September - 1970 20 October n 22 ' i November H 23,' w December ^ 1 January - 1971 20 February tl 19 March N 12 April II 10 May N 11 June II 16 July It 16 August n 16 September ft 17 Total 35 It w ill be seen that the largest ninal^er oi’ species oi ixiteo were found froia Uctober 1970 to DttembcT 1970 ’ .e» during the coolest part of the year. Taking each »»onth separately the predominant species in most of the months was The other speexes which fomed sizable proportions of the total mites population i.e . atleast 25 percant in any month, during tiie entire period of study werei- Spacies; Highest porcoataga fouad in : L, (L .) deliense August IdVd 32,G.« 84 L, (L .) sinhgarhense August 1970 28,3^ ( September 1971 24, 0i) jL* n# sp# JL October 1970 23.1$ A. (A.) sp. 1 May 1970 31,9f» April 1971 42.1$ G. iS .) punctata September 1970 27.1$ The retaaiping species had monthly percfintages not exceeding 25 percent in any month. From the data presented in Table 17 the following patt?»js of seasonal prevalence of larvae of tro:?ibiculid mites emerge (Only tha species which are most abundant w ill be referred to) 1, C ,(S .) li muftbers from December to yJorll: least ebundant during the monsoon, li' deliense; Occurs throughout the year with high abundance in monsoon and post-monsoon months; least prevalent from February to June. 3, L «(L .) sinhgarhenset Occurs only in monsoon and post-monsoon months. 4* G. (G .) n, sp. 2s Occurs only during the monsoon months from June to October, 8r^ 5 , I.» (L .) n, s?. 1 : Occurs froa October tc May with higher number in cooler months, 6, (a .) sp, 1 : Occui's only in tha di^’’ months February to early June, 7, 2* ^ ^ punctata; Occurs throughout the year with higher rertjer la the nons^xiu a vl poat-nonsoou aunths, ^ t03q: Occurs saore or less uniformly th»*ough.wt thu yuor with a lov fvercuntage in iiay and Juno (Fig, 23). A cogent r.hy le made about JL.(L.) ahaaiushi in view cf its vectorial pelsntirJ.ity though il is not as abundant as the ether species oier.tioned al'ove. L ,(L «) akamushi occurs only in the Tonsoon -md pest-sonsoon deaths. /S«(^«) ra-aachandrai pcc*irs only in the monsoon and post-aotisoon moatbs_7» It i ' j iilflcu lt TO classify the species as suautor KOPacon or v;intyr spocies but with special reforonce to the potential vectors, it couli ba stateJ caat IL.) delianse, L* - a!--'ahiuchi and h. (L.) siuhyarheusa are predoainaatly found activol;''' during mousoca end G. (£.) Itdvsndalaeas is . 2* (/»•) 1 igula and G, (?.) rnmarhnndr-.:i could be regarded as si>®ciea p'edonlacrtly active in thn cooler and early spring months (Fig, 2'^), Though the data of 1970 only hove been prssontei in Table 17, beceose t*^o dntc for full year cf 1371 ou'S not 8(i available, the patterns of prevalences as seen during 1971 are not in consistent with those found for similar periods in 1970. 2»2.1.I0 Host relationship of different species of trombiculid mites collected from Western Ohats during the study period (Table 18): The hist relationship of a ll the 36 species collected, based on the chigger-index is presented in Table 18. A ll the 36 species were found on Suncus murinus followed by Rattus rattus rufescens with 20 species, Rattus rattus satarae with 16 species, Millardia indica with 15 species, Rattus blanfordi with 11 species, Rmambulus tristriatus with 10 species, Mus platythrix with 10 species, Hus boodu^a with 9 species, Golunda e llio t i with 8 species and Bandicota bengalensis with 8 species. Only a few species were found on the other five hosts. The host relationship of seme of the common mite species were as follows: 1, L,(L,) deliense: This species was found on 10 different hosts. The order of abundance on hosts based on the data given in Table 18 are as follows; Suncus murinus ( “S.m,), Rattus rattus rufescens ("8 .r . r . ), Funambulus tristriatus ( « F . ^ . ), Millard ia indica (»H i. in ), Rattus rattus satarae (=R. r.s.), Rattus blanfordi (-R.b.), Golunda ellioti (■G.^,) 87 Bandicota bennalensis (•B .b .), Hus iMsculiis (aria.a.) and Mas booduKs ( ~Hu,b.). 2* L. (L .) akamushi: It was found on five different hosts. Order of abundance was S.m,, F.tt., Mi.in, ^ r .r . and K.r.s_. 3, L. (L ,) sinhgarhen.se: It was found on nine different hosts. The order of abundance was iJi.in** P.,b., F«tt., B.b, and Hus platythrix (»M u .p l.). 4, L. (L.) n. sp. 1: Found on eight different hosts, the order of abundance was Mi.in.. R.r.s., S.m., F.tt., , ^.r.r., k.b. and B.b. 5, H. (£.) longisetosa: Found on seven different hosts, the order of abundance was S.m., Millardia meltada (■Hi.mel. ), R .r.£., and Mu.b. 6, A. ( a .) sp. 1: Found on seven different hosts. The order of abundance was Mi.in .. £•£•£•! S.m., R.b., Mu.m.. Mu.nl., and Mu.b. 7, G. (S .) lig u ls : This species was found on 14 out o f 15 positive hosts and the order of abundance was S.m., B .in ., F.£t,, Mi.in.. Mi.reel,, ®»£.£., K.£»£., and other hosts. 8, G. (S .) punctata; Found on eight hosts. The order of abuiwlarice v;as Mi.mel. , S.m., t ^ .b ,, Mus cervicolor ( -Mu.cor.) and ethers. 88 9* G, (G ,) n, sp, 2: It was found on seven different hosts. The order of abundance was Mi.in,, ^.m., B.b,, Mu.pl., j^b,, Mu.cer., and R,r.s. 2.2.1.11 Habitat distribution of chiggers collected from the Western Ghats (fable : The percentage distribution of a ll the 36 species collected during this study in three different habitats viz, forest, domestic/peridoEeStic and cultivated areas is presented in Table 19. It was seen that almost a ll the species were present in a ll the three habitats but their percentages of prevalence differ in the different habitats. The predominant species l.e , those which constituted at least 5 percent of the total mite population, in the different habitats were:- Porest habitat Domes t ic/pe ridcaaes t ic Cultivated land habitat habitat G.(S.) liRula (23*) G.(S.) ligula (44) G.(S.) ligula (38) (L.) deliense (9) t.. (L.) g inhgsrhense (10) L .(b.) deliense (16) L.(JU) n, sp. 1 (7) b *(b ») deliense (7) P’-inctata (7) B. (E .) sp. (6) L.(Ji.) ri. sp. 1 (5) L .(L .) sinhgarhense (6 l G. (G .) n. sp,2 (12) A. (A .) sp. 2 (5) G, (S .) ceylonica - “ G .(^ .) pauctata (5) » The figures in brackets are percentages HVi The distributio.1 of sonie of the prodoiAinant species in three different h*ibitats are as follows: 1. G»(S.) ItRula: This species was found in all habitats. It coraprised of 44 percent in domestic habitat, 3S percent In cultivated area and 23 percent in the forest. This was tha cfflaaonest species found in large nur/ibors in a ll the three habitats. ?• L. (T.,) This species was found in large numbers in a ll the three habitats, however the order of abundance was cultivated lands (16^), forest areas (9^) and dcmestic/peridoraestic areas {T%), 3, L. (L .) slnhgarhense; This species comprised ten percent of a ll mites in domestic ai’eas, six percent in cultivated land and four percent in forested areas, 4, G. (G.) n. sp. 2: Found in all areas but more in forest areas (12e’) than In domestic areas end only {2^4) in cultivated areas. 5, L. (h.) n.sp. 1; This was relatively more in the mite fauna of tha forest areas (75?) as cenpamd to dcsaestic (5^) and cultivated land (2^) areas respectively, 6, A. (A .) ap, 1: This is equally prevalent but comparatively at a low percentage (3 to 5 %) in all habitats, 7, G. (S .) punctata? It is more prevalent in cultivated areas (7^) than the ether two areas {C% and 2%) in forest avd domestic areas respecti\rely. ^ )() B» n. (^ «) lon‘.iP6icaat This species \nxs found aliaost in equal but low proportions in ell the three liabitats. 9, L. ( L . ) ak?-cashi; Tbcj[,h this species was found in a ll the three habitats but the percentage was 1ow in forest and doBiestic areas (1J4 each) and less than on© percent in cultivated land ereas. 10, 3. (B ,) sp. 1: this species seems to be habitat specific, found mostly in fcrest areas ( ^ ) . In the domestic and cultivated land areas it (1%) only, 11, G. (S ,) ceylonicat Found more in forest areas (6^) than the other two habitats,’ domestic and cultivated land (1^ and 2^) respectively, 12, C ,(S .) ramachandrai: It is predominantly found in domestic areas than the other two habitats, forest (less than TS) and cultivated lands {!%) respectively. 2.2.1,12 Sites of attaelmient of trcmbiculid mites fo«ind on small mammals (Tabic 20;; Analysis of the cites cf attacluaent of trombiculid mites feund sn a ll the 603 positi\*e ssiali mammals collected during this study is presented in Table 20. It was seen that tho Kites coalu bo found attadied cniefiy on seven different sltec on tiie bodies of tne hosts, 'ihe carjnon site of attaciiEisnt was inside the cars; the ether sites in crdai* of preference vrert, car pinnae, cuter sides of thighs, body, 91 teatc, fere en;;5i found attached on a ll the sevcoi sites; 92*& percent of the ohrer? had rites attached cr* thighs and 81 percent had jnites inside cars. In ranidoxurus hetwphrodito^ atjd Funetmbulus tristriatas, oiites vere found attached only inside ears. iY>% } 2.3 SUm4Ai^Y» 1. The fie ld studies dealing with the biology of trcanbiculid laites were conducted for a period of 21 months dur ing the period January 1970 to September 1971. A total of 904 small mammals were collected and examined for tranbiculid mites. Of these, 900 ware collected by employing 4,940 Sherman traps in four different localities in the Western Ghats of Poona District, Maharashtra State, 18,2 percent traps were found positive. There were significant differences in the percentage of positive traps. The highest percentage was found at Sinhgarh (23,3^) followed by Bhor (20,5^), Lonavla-Khandala (14.6J5) and Mulshi (14,5^), 2. The small mammals collected belonged to 16 species of three different orders v ii, Insectivora, Rodentia and Carnivora, The predominant species of mammals found in a ll the four areas were Suncus murinus (417), Mus platythrix (155), Rattus rattus rufescens (98), Rattus blanfordi (88), The distribution of Suncus murinus which constituted 40,0 percent of a ll the manmials collected in these areas was found to show a slight but significant difference between the four localities. 3. Among the 904 animals collected, 603 (66.7^) were found positive for the presence of trombiculid mites. The frequency of occurrence of trombiculid mites on different host mammals has been given in Table 7, Species viz, Millard ia indica, Rattus rattus satarae, Suncus murinus. 9rj Bandicota bertRalensis. Rattus rattus rufescens showed high rate of infestation (more than &)%) by mites on them and others had infestation rate between 27 to 55 percent, Millardia indica, a new species of rodent was found only at Sinhgarh area and was highly positive for mites. 4, The seasonal variation in the rate of infestation of small mammals by trombiculid mites ranged frt>m 35.4 to 91.8 percent. The highest rate of infestation was in October 1970 and the lowest was in March 1971, The general trend is, there is a f a ll in infestation in Ihcwarmer months and a rise with the onset of the wet weather, 5, Among the predominant species Suncus murinus showed infestation of 91,6 percent, Rattus rattus rufescens (64,3^), Rattus blanfordi (28,4^) and Mus platythrix (29,OJ^) hy trombiculid mites. The infestation on Suncua murinus in a ll the areas remained between 80 to 100 percent and no season of the year therefore appeared adverse to the infestation of this species. In Rattus rattus rufescens the infestation was generally found low during April to June, Mus platythrix although collected in large numbers in rocky terrain of Sinhgarh area, the percentage infestation was lower than other three areas and the highest rate of infestation was found in August, In Rattus blanfordi although collected in large numbers from Lonavla-Khandala area, the infestation rate was highest at Sinhgarh area. However it was found that this species was infested by mites in a ll the seasons of the year, 6, The percentage infestation by troiabiculid mites on small nammals collected in cultivated land and dcwiestic/ peridooiestic habitats was significantly higher th_an those from the forest areas. 7, The chigger-index for a ll the host snecies collected are given in Table 14, The highest index was for ^uncus murinus {^7,9/S,m ,) and the lowest was for Mas beoduga (4,S/Mu.b.). 8, A total of 36 species of trombiculid mites were collected in the study area. Of these, 11 species have been reported inIniia earlier, seven are undetermined and 18 are new to science. Four of these new species have been described during the course of this study. The relative prevalence of a ll the 36 species is given in Table 15. The percentage prevalence o f the predominant species were G. (S ,) ligula (37,16$), L .(L ,) deliense (9,94$), L .(L .) sinhgarhense (7,60$), £. (G.) o.sp. 2 (5.54$), L.iL.) n.sp. 1 (4.50$), A.(A.) sp.l (4,35$) G. (£.) punctata (4,30$) and H»(£*) longisetosa (3.00$) and others were relatively fewer in number. The species b »(b ») akatmtshi was comparatively scarce forming only 0,80 percent of a ll the mites examined. 9, The percentsge monthly infestation of a ll the 36 species during different months of the study period is given in Table 16. The largest number of species of mites was found from October 1970 to January 1971 during the coolest part of the year. £. (S .) ligula was found through out the year with higher cumber from December to April, least abundant during the monsoon. L .(L .) deliense was also found through out the year with high abundance in monsoon and post-monsoon months, least prevalent from February to June. The other species viz. L .(L .) akamushi, £ .(L . ) sinhgarherise, G. (C .) n, sp, 2, ) ramachandrai and G .(S .) punctata were only abundant in monsoon and post-monsoon months. L .(L .) n. sp, 1 was more in number during cooler months, A, (a ,) sp. 1 occurs onl y in dry months. H. ( C.) longisetosa occurs uniformly throughout the year. 10, Host relationship of all the 36 species of trombiculid mites collected, based on the chigger-index is presented in Table 18, All the 36 species were found on Suncus murinua followed by Hattus rattus rufescens with 29 species, R^ttus rattus satarae with 16 species, Hillardia mcltada with 15 species, Rattus blanfordi with 11 species and others had ten or less than ten species on them. The host relationship of nine common mite species in order of their abundance on hosts has been presented. 9G 11, Analysis of the sites of attachment of tronbiculid mites on small mammals revealed that the mites were found attached chiefly on seven different sites on the bodies of the hosts. The coBBeon site of attachment was inside the ears; the other sites in order of preference were ear pinnae, thighs, body, teats, fore arras and t a il. In Suncus 2!jnj^s,^ mites were found attached on a ll the seven types of sites; naxitmm numbers were found on the outer sides of the thighs. Among rodents the majority of mites were found attached inside the ears and ear pinnae. ,97 Table 1 Actual ra ia fa ll (in m&.) by months, January 1970 to December 1971 in Poona, Lonavla, Khandala, Paud and Ehor Months Poona Lonavla Xhandala Faud Bhor (near Mulsh!) 1970 January 0,0 0,0 o.b 0.0 February 0,0 0.0 0.0 0,0 March 0,0 0.0 0,0 0.0 ^ r i l 3,3 0.0 0.0 31.3 May 48.3 95,0 Data not 0,0 0,5 June 84.4 702.0 available 208.3 130.1 July 132.9 1430.0 570.0 250.5 August 79,6 1678,0 471.6 159.8 September 39.4 617.0 124.1 62.7 October 108.8 44.0 65,3 84.4 November 0.0 0.0 0,0 0,0 December 0.0 0,0 0,0 0.0 1971 January 0,0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 February 0.0 0,0 0.0 0,0 0,0 March 0,0 0.0 0.0 0,0 0,0 April 0,0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 May 28.1 77.0 68.4 38.0 29.0 June 65,9 1407.0 532.1 430.8 145.1 July 42.6 1459,0 1418.0 337,1 109.9 August 112.0 1435.0 653,0 402.7 177.8 September 94.5 533.0 0.0 257.4 147.0 October 41.1 18.0 0.0 110.6 16,2 November 0.0 0.0 0,0 0.0 0.0 December 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0,0 Table 2 Mean Average Rainfall (in naa,) fc r several years (1901-1950) by months in Poona, Lcnavla, Khandula, Paud and Phor (Poona d istric t) Months Poona l.onavla Wiandala Paud Bhor January 2.5 1.8 1.8 1.8 2.0 February 1.3 1.0 1.8 0,8 1.0 March 2.0 0.8 3,8 2.8 0,0 April 14.2 6.9 10.9 9.9 11.7 I4ay 27.4 26.2 27,4 18.5 26.4 June 107,4 610.2 702.8 215.7 132,1 July 168.9 1764,5 1950.5 637.5 354.6 August 96.5 1229.6 1133.9 368,1 191.3 September 130.1 510,0 707.6 161.8 122.2 October 76.2 120.4 153.2 68,3 72.1 November 30.5 29.2 11.7 30.7 33.3 December 4.3 3.1 4.1 3,3 4.6 Total 661.3 4303,6 4705,7 1519.2 955.1 No. of days 46.4 106.8 108.8 73 64.5 m c o ■p m (0 « fc, ft O ac J3 t-i w § o o > a, •4^ e W 3 «-l >» O +J ® +• X! C >s Vi -H ® 1? CM o 00 05 co m CM a> CO UO +» TJ Q O t> CO to in in t- 0 0 <30 00 c- c- • r t d 1-1 O V. •O o «t g ® CO ® 3 oo ft 05 * J2 O iH 1 rW » CO ■H > 05 m 00 05 00 ■M* o c- 05 b- co 00 fH • • • • • • • • • • • • 2 ^ ti 00 iH CO CJ5 tH o CJ5 00 ■O' o t- 5 rf r-l rH CM CM H rH rH r-H 0) •-) 0) t4 n c •If +» 3 S 3 t - c» rf <7> CM 05 00 t- CM 00 00 rH TJ 3 V, • • • • • * * • • • • • _ a ® o CM CO ft 05 C c d -rJ 0,0 CO CO Jo P3 CO Sm CM CO A rt 5 a V 0 o » a +» 3 X Vi V i u « i t u « 0? .d C *3 +> a 9 JC3 tO 3 a 3 £ (0 o J o a 0 c 3 V i o d 9 >a 3 +» o « 0) £ o c ,Q Vi (3 M ft +* t* o X 3 « CO ft 3 3 « C3 o o *3 ««; •3 •3 •< V) o X Q 10',' Tnh U 4 Mean maxisiaa and minimum teiaporatures and mean relative huraidlty at Poona city by months and the actuals for the period January 1970 to December 1971 Actuals for the period of study Daily maximum Daily minimura Mean Me a a Months temperature temperature ®C relative relative • humidity humidity Highest Lowest Mean Highest Lotfest Kean 08.00 hrs 17.00 hrs (percent) (psfcent) 1970 January 32.4 26.6 30 15,9 6,3 11,2 68 31 February 35.2 28.6 32.8 17.9 11.2 13.8 67 30 March 40.3 31.2 35,7 21.7 11.7 16,0 49 21 April 42.0 35.0 38.4 26.1 15.6 21.5 46 24 May 40.4 32.9 37.5 26.5 19.8 23.5 58 41 June 34.7 26.8 31.0 24.4 21.1 22.9 78 69 July 30,2 25.4 28,1 23.0 20.7 22.0 85 76 August 30.2 24.e 27.0 22.4 20,6 21.7 88 81 September 31.8 26.2 28.4 22.2 18.0 20.8 83 71 October 32.9 29.0 31.7 21.9 12.6 18.3 80 50 November 32,0 27.7 30,4 16.5 5,5 10.3 68 28 December 31.5 27.0 29.1 10.6 3.6 6.6 63 24 1971 January 31,4 25,6 29.4 13.5 5,6 9.5 69 28 February 34.5 27.5 32.4 17.6 7.8 11.8 58 23 March 39.1 28.4 34.9 22.4 8,7 16.0 44 21 April 40,8 35.3 38.4 24.7 16.7 20.9 51 31 May 40.0 34.4 36.7 24.2 19.9 22.3 63 42 June 32.4 25.3 29.7 23,5 21.5 22.6 75 67 July 30.8 25.4 28.6 23.7 21.0 22.0 81 72 August 31.3 23.7 28.0 22.4 20.4 21,4 84 77 September 35.2 24,5 29.8 24.0 17.2 20.8 83 71 October 31.7 25.3 29.8 21.7 10.7 17.8 82 57 November 31.5 27,5 29.6 16.7 7.3 10.3 65 33 December 30.3 - 28.8 • 5,6 7.9 69 31 7fi 3 9 2 i 10 i Table 5 Rate of capture in traps* of small maBHsals at different loca lit ie s in Western ghats of Poona District SI. Locality No, of No, of traps Percent positive No. traps set positive for traps for masEnals mamnals 1. Lonavia-Khandala 1280 187 14.6 area 2. Mulshi area 1260 183 14.5 3. Sinhgarh area 1260 294 23.3 4, Bhor area 1140 234 20.5 Total 4940 898 Average 18.2 » Sherman traps were used at a ll occasions. Table 6 Monthly fluctuations in the rate of capture in traps of small maximals at different localities for the period January 1970 to September 1971 Lonavla~ Mulshi area Sinhgarh area Bhor area Total Population Khandala area 9! •w « 9 09 > MONTHS Q) CO S' a o CO 0) m 10 V) ^ i 0) 04 a (0 0) 0) S m o> a o, 0) c Oi2 ss §- & L i L i u •f* Li •He u L. 1970 January 60 8 13.3 60 3 5.0 60 11 18.3 - - - 180 22 12.2 February 60 7 11.7 60 12 20.0 60 14 23.3 60 21 35.0 240 54 22.5 March 80 13 16.2 60 15 25.0 60 16 26.7 60 11 18.3 260 55 21,2 April 60 9 15.0 60 3 5.0 60 11 18.3 60 13 21.7 240 36 15.0 May 60 9 15.0 60 5 8.3 60 17 28.3 60 4 6.7 240 35 14.6 June 60 5 8.3 60 10 16.7 60 9 15.0 - - - 180 24 13.3 July 60 13 21.7 60 14 23.3 60 12 20.0 60 17 28.3 240 56 23.3 August 60 8 13.3 60 7’ 11.7 60 6 10.0 60 8 13.3 240 29 12.1 Septeniber 60 4 6.7 60 5 8.3 60 6 10.0 60 15 25.0 240 .30 12.5 October 60 6 10.0 60 9 15.0 60 13 21.7 60 21 a5.o 240 49 20.4 November 60 6 10.0 60 4 6.7 60 17 28.3 60 10 16,7 240 37 15.4 December 60 9 15.0 60 8 13.3 60 14 23.3 60 21 35.0 240 52 21.7 1971 January 60 14 23.3 60 13 21.7 60 15 25.0 60 6 10.0 240 48 20.0 February 60 9 15.0 60 4 6.7 60 20 33.3 60 11 18.3 240 44 18.3 March 60 3 13.3 60 10 16.7 60 13 21.7 60 17 28.3 240 48 20,0 April 60 6 10.0 60 8 13.3 60 7 11.7 60 6 10.0 240 27 11.3 May 60 5 8.3 60 11 18.3 60 12 20.0 60 4 6.7 240 32 13.3 June 60 14 23.3 60 12 20.0 60 12 20.0 60 U 18.3 240 49 20.4 July 60 12 20.0 60 14 23.3 60 28 46.7 60 12 20,0 240 66 27.5 August 60 16 26.7 60 8 13.3 60 25 41.7 60 9 15.0 240 58 24.2 September 60 6 10.0 60 8 13.3 60 16 26.7 60 17 28.3 240 47 19.6 Total 1280 187 14.6 1260 183 14.5 1260 ?64 23.3 1140 234 20.5 4940 898 18.2 o c'w- Table 7 Species of small mamraals collected at different localities showing the presence or absence of trombiculid mites Lonavla- Total No. Khandrla Mulshi Sinligarh Bhor of small 01 area area area area mammals collected •t? SI, Species of small 0 No, mammals collected •d TJ 47 xs 07 •a 07 © a, o o 0 0 > © > .S: •H h d C d a C *! P •H ■H « -H « •H •M 4^ (0 •H 4 ^ ( 0 t o Wi •H 1. Millardia indica - 22 21 - - 22 21 95.5 2. Rattus rattus satarae 13 12 1 1 1 1 9 8 24 22 91.7 3. Suncus murinus 73 71 91 81 115 107 138 123 417 382 91.6 4. Bandicota benpalensis 1 1 5 4 - - 6 5 83.3 5. Rattus rattus rufescens 9 7 32 23 29 12 28 21 98 63 64.3 6. Golunda e llio t i 1 0 - 6 5 mm - 9 5 55,6 7. Hus cervicolor 1 0 1 - «• 13 9 18 10 55.6 8. Hus muscuius 2 0 mm 2 2 - - 4 2 50.0 9. Funambulus tristriatus 2 1 - 5 1 5 3 12 5 41.7 10. Mus booduga 7 0 11 1 14 7 13 7 45 17 37,8 11. Mus platythrix 37 5 27 12 74 16 17 12 155 43 27.8 12. Rattus blanfordi 42 10 14 3 20 8 12 3 88 24 27.3 13. Paradoxurus hemiaphroditus - - - 1 1 1 1 100 14. Millardia meltada 1 1 - - 1 1 2 2 700* * 15. Bandicota indica 1 1 - - - 1 1 100 16. Tatera indica 2 0 2 0 0.0 * These figures iiave not been taken into consideration because their host numbers were too small. Table 8 Seasonal infestation rates by trombiculid mites of small mammals during the study period Lonavla- MuIshi Sinhgarh Bhor Khandala Total •d 4) •o •a TJ Q> TJ •wc uo t > 0> Year and •fi c s •H c 1 0) •S CO •H 4* CO •H +» « cu) a Months s •H 0) •H 0) •H © •r( 0) •H © «] o in -H « 0) M *> +• *H O O o O *H c +» 0> o, a 0) a 6 Q> o. e « a 3 a-^ « «S 0) o +* ® • • • . • . . • u • . u fcl « +* o o o o o o o O o o © -H 5s: 58 5? 55 <*H S 55 «H 58 555 1970 January 8 6 3 .2 11 9 - - 22 17 77.3 February 7 5 12 10 14 12 21 17 54 44 80.0 March 13 9 15 14 16 15 11 9 55 47 85.5 April 9 4 3 3 11 8 13 12 36 27 75.0 May 9 4 5 4 17 12 4 3 35 23 65.7 Jam 5 3 10 6 9 5 - - 24 14 58.3 July 13 6 14 8 12 8 17 13 56 35 62.5 August 8 6 7 6 6 6 8 6 29 24 82.8 September 4 3 5 4 6 6 15 13 30 26 86.7 October 6 5 9 9 13 11 21 20 49 45 91.8 November 6 2 4 4 17 10 11 11 38 27 71.0 December 9 4 8 6 15 11 25 25 57 46 80.7 1971 January 14 6 13 13 15 2 6 5 48 26 54.2 Febr*iary 9 6 4 1 20 9 11 7 44 ?3 52.3 March 8 3 10 4 13 4 17 6 48 17 35.4 April 6 2 3 4 7 3 G 4 27 13 48.1 May 5 3 11 3 12 6 4 3 32 15 46.9 June 14 9 12 7 12 4 11 G 49 25 51,0 July 12 7 14 7 28 19 12 7 66 40 60.6 August 16 10 8 4 25 14 9 9 58 37 63.3 September 6 3 8 6 16 30 17 13 47 S2 bd.l Total 187 106 183 125 295 184 239 188 904 603 Percentage positive 56.7 68.3 62.4 78.6 66.7 Table 9 Bate of infestation by trombiculid mites of Suncus murinus by months during the study period Lonavla - Mulshi Sinhgarh Bhor Total Khandala 1 a 1. T3 9 T3 *a •d 0) •rt o Year and > > a> o > tM •H •r4 c •H c •H c •H o Months •H -H 09 1 •H CO •H -H «0 +» CO +* 83 w» « •H q> •H Q) •H O © o 09 (0 -H to 4* O •ri o •n O -H O O t!C3 +* o. g o o. 0 a. s o o. 6 O ) c, a 0 4<0.®0 • . u * • (4 • . (h . (. • • t-i W 4J o O o o o p o o o o o 0 © *H 2: S5 ss 2; 2 Ch 55J® fMO 01 Cm 0 1970 January 5 5 1 1 2 2 •• - 8 8 100.0 February 4 4 9 S 10 10 12 11 35 34 9 7.1 March 4 4 14 13 12 12 8 8 38 37 9 7.4 April 5 4 2 2 9 8 10 10 26 24 92.3 May 4 4 3 3 6 6 3 3 16 16 100,0 June 3 3 3 3 3 3 0m 0m 9 9 100.0 July 4 4 7 6 6 5 6 6 23 21 91.3 August 5 5 1 1 5 5 2 2 13 13 100.0 September 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 10 10 100.0 October 4 4 5 5 6 6 15 15 30 30 100.0 November 2 2 2 2 11 9 8 8 23 21 91.3 December 3 3 5 5 11 10 15 15 34 33 97.1 1971 January 5 5 9 9 3 2 4 3 21 19 90.5 February 4 4 1 1 6 6 8 6 19 17 89.5 March 3 3 1 0 2 2 13 5 19 10 52.6 April 1 1 2 2 1 1 4 4 8 8 100.0 May 2 2 5 3 3 3 3 3 13 11 84.6 June 4 4 6 5 3 1 4 3 17 13 76.5 July 3 2 6 6 4 4 3 3 16 15 93.8 August 4 4 3 n 5 5 4 4 16 13 81.2 September 2 2 4 3 4 4 13 U 23 20 87,0 Total 73 71 91 81 115 107 138 123 417 382 Percentage positive 37.2 89.0 93.0 89,1 91.6 O Table 10 Rate o f infestation by trombiculid mites of Ifettus Hat^us ntfescens by months daring the study period Lonavla - Mi'lshi Sinhgarh Bhor Total Khandala 1 w > 9 > SI "H § § •ti c •H •H § ft o a Year and +» « ■S ■V* IS •rt +* w» Ci, s •H Q> •r4 S3 ■r-i U) ft V ft ® Vi Months CQ w +• « +* n -H m +» m +» +» O H O 1 O *H O *H 0 07 o- a O cu s 0 o. a 01 a 1970 January 0 0 0 0 2 1 - - 2 1 50.0 February 0 0 1 1 1 0 3 3 5 4 80.0 March 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 3 3 100.0 April 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.0 May 0 0 2 1 5 5 0 0 7 6 85.7 June 0 0 2 2 2 1 «• - 4 3 75.0 July 1 0 5 1 4 1 3 2 13 4 30.8 August 0 0 2 2 1 1 3 1 6 4 66.7 September 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 1 3 3 100,0 October 2 1 4 4 0 0 0 0 6 5 83,3 November 0 0 2 2 3 0 1 1 6 3 50,0 December 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 5 5 5 100.0 1971 January 0 0 1 1 2 0 1 1 4 2 50,0 Februair 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 2 1 50.0 March 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 100,0 April 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.0 May 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 P 0 0,0 June 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0.0 e •9 July 4 4 1 0 1 0 * j J. 11 5 'io • 5 August 1 1 4 3 1 0 3 3 9 7 77,8 September 0 0 4 3 0 n 2 2 6 5 63.3 Total 9 7 32 23 29 12 28 21 98 63 Percent positive 77.7 71.8 41.4 75.0 64.3 Table 11 Sate of infestation by trombiculid mites of Mus platythrix by months dur ing the study period Lonnvla - Hulshi Sinhgarh Bhor Total Khandala 1 +• « TJ T3 •a « •e a> -d e > 0> o « +* Tear and n •r< C f-4 c 45 O -H •H m n . s + » n a e Months •H q; •H C? •H Q? • r i (]} 6 •rt ® 0) 1 « + » +* O o -H X O "H O *H c O 0) 04 g a & o a - g o O , 6 S . 6 « .H • • U • • u • • u • • Wi • • o o o Q o o o o o o o o o o > 52! «M se s c 2 ; ' z . a s 1970 January 0 0 1 1 0 0 - - 1 1 100.0 Febrtairy 1 0 0 0 1 1 4 2 6 3 50,0 March 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 3 1 33.3 April 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 5 2 40.0 May 1 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 6 0 0,0 June 1 0 1 1 3 1 - ■■ 5 2 40.0 July 3 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 9 6 66.7 August 2 1 3 0 0 3 3 8 7 87.5 September 1 0 3 2 1 1 0 0 5 3 60.0 October 0 0 0 0 4 2 0 0 4 2 50.0 November 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 December 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 4 2 50.0 1971 January 1 0 2 2 9 0 0 0 1 2 2 1 6 . 7 February 1 0 0 0 8 0 1 0 10 0 0.0 March 1 0 4 0 5 0 0 0 10 0 0,0 April 3 1 6 2 3 1 1 0 13 4 30.8 May 1 0 4 0 5 1 0 0 10 1 lO.C June 4 0 0 0 6 2 T 0 11 2 1 8 . 2 July 1 0 2 0 8 1 0 0 1 1 1 9.1 r— August o 2 0 0 8 2 1 1 14 5 35.7 September 3 3 0 0 5 1 0 0 8 1 12.5 Total 37 5 27 12 74 16 17 12 155 45 Percent positive 13,5 44.5 21.6 70,0 29,0 Table 12 Rate of infestation by trombiculid mites of Rattus blanfordi by months during the study period Lonavla - Mulshi Sinhgarh Bhor Total Khandala 1 + » « *0 T3 •d •d Q Q) § © 1 m « + * Tear and c •H d •w a E O *W •H . s 00 .9 •H m •H •H 4* © O. 0 ♦H © •H © •H ® •H © •H © Months « •+» O Q O ‘H O O + * « O. s (D 5 . e © a 6 © e 1970 January 2 0 0 0 0 0 - - 2 0 0.0 February 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.0 March 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 1 33.3 April 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0,0 May 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 5 1 20.0 June 1 0 2 0 1 0 - - 4 0 0.0 July 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 50.0 August 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 September 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 2 100.0 October 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 M November 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.0 December 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 5 0 0.0 1971 January 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6 0 0.0 February 2 0 1 0 2 1 1 0 6 1 16,7 March 4 0 3 2 3 0 2 0 12 2 16.7 April 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 4 1 25.0 May 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 33.3 June 4 4 1 0 1 1 2 1 8 6 75.0 July 2 0 4 1 2 1 0 0 8 2 25.0 August 4 2 0 0 4 1 1 1 9 4 44.4 September 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 0 4 2 50,0 Total 42 10 14 3 20 8 12 4 8 8 25 Percent positive 23.8 21.4 40.0 33.3 28,4 Table 13 a Bate of infestation by trombiculid inites to small mammals in different habitats Forest Cultivated Domestic/peridomestic O o 1 q; Ok 1 9 +» « > -H ^ 4^ CO o % •H q; a> t 0> 1 •H O 9 ^ •i4 ® > « +* > « 4- Year and •r4 C •H O •ri •H o V) o, e ■H W +» « +» «0 a. B Month •w +• t< to -P U) +* t< CO bo +» +» t* O *H 03 C O O -H ® c o o *w O -H c o cu e C 6 r-l C 1970 January 3 2 5 60.0 6 1 7 85,5 8 2 10 80,0 Febrnai'y 15 4 19 78.9 15 4 19 78.9 14 2 16 87.5 March 13 3 16 81.2 13 1 14 92.8 21 4 25 84.0 April 9 3 12 75.0 3 3 6 50.0 15 3 18 83.3 May 1 8 9 11.1 4 0 4 100.0 15 7 22 81.8 June 8 4 12 66.7 1 2 3 33.3 5 4 9 55,6 July 16 6 22 72.7 14 3 17 82.3 5 12 17 29.4 August 7 0 7 100.0 6 1 7 85,7 11 1 12 73.3 September 4 4 8 50.0 11 0 11 100.0 11 0 11 100.0 October 11 1 12 91.7 7 0 7 100.0 27 3 30 90.0 November 6 3 S 66.7 10 4 14 71.4 11 4 L5 73.3 December 7 6 13 53.8 13 3 16 81.2 26 2 28 92.9 Total 100 44 144 69.4 103 22 125 82.4 169 44 213 79.3 1971 January 6 10 16 37.5 7 6 13 53.8 13 6 19 68.4 February 6 15 21 28.6 8 1 9 88.8 9 5 14 64.3 March 3 11 14 21.4 4 8 12 33,3 10 12 22 45.5 April 2 6 8 25.0 6 5 11 54,5 5 3 8 62.5 May 5 8 13 38.5 3 4 7 42.8 7 5 12 58.3 June 9 7 16 56.2 9 6 15 60.0 7 11 18 38,8 July 6 12 18 33.3 16 5 21 76.2 18 9 27 66.6 August 9 10 19 47,4 8 5 13 61.5 20 6 26 76.9 September 8 7 15 53.3 1 3 4 25.0 23 5 28 82.1 Total 54 86 140 38.5 62 43 105 59,0 112 62 174 64.4 Table 13 b Rate of infestation by trombiculid mites to sniall mamnals in different habitats By months Culti Domestic/ Forest vated peridomestic TJ © ® •0 © © > © > Year and a -H C 1-1 s Locality •rt -H a x •H a x •H +. 10 Month Q *H 1970 January Lonavla-Khandala (L-K) 1 1 4 3 3 2 • Kulshi (M) 0 0 1 1 2 1 Sinhgarh (S) 4 2 2 2 5 5 Bhor (B) - - - m m - - Total 5 3 7 6 10 8 Percent positive for mites 60.0 85.7 80 .0 February (L-K) 1 0 1 0 5 5 (M) 4 3 7 6 1 1 (S) 7 7 2 2 5 3 (B) 7 5 9 7 5 5 Total 19 15 19 15 16 14 Percent positive fo r mites 7 8 .9 78.9 87.B March (L-K) 8 5 3 2 2 2 (M) 2 2 2 2 11 10 (s ) 5 5 3 3 8 7 (B) 1 1 6 6 4 2 Tota3 16 13 14 13 25 21 Percent positive for mites 81.2 92.8 84, 0 April (L-K) 2 1 1 0 6 3 Cl) JL. 1 1 1 1 1 (S) 4 3 2 0 5 5 (B) 5 4 2 2 6 6 Total 12 9 6 3 18 15 Percent positive for mites 7 5 .0 5 0.0 83. 3 May (L-K) 4 0 1 1 4 3 (M) 0 0 0 0 5 4 is) 5 1 3 3 9 8 (B) 0 0 0 0 4 3 Total 9 1 4 4 22 15 Percent positive fo r mites 1 1 .1 100.0 81. 8 Continued .. - 2 - Table 13 b (Continued) Lux'i, X** Domestic/ Forest vated peridomestic tj ® TS ® Year and 0) > © Locality ? >. c Month •H JJ 05 •r» -H ca e ® S ® S Q) ffl OT -M « « K o X O X O -H ® n ® o. g • • b • • • • (h o o o o ^ o S5 S; S5 «M June (L-K) 5 3 0 0 0 0 (M) 2 2 3 1 5 3 (s ) 5 3 0 0 4 o (B) - - - - - Total 12 8 3 1 9 5 Percent positive for mites 66,7 331.3 55 .6 July (L-K) 4 2 3 2 6 2 OU 5 4 4 3 5 1 i^) 5 4 3 3 4 1 (3 ) 8 6 7 6 2 1 Total 22 16 17 14 17 5 Percent positive fo r mites 7 2 .7 82, 3 29. 4 August (L-K) 1 1 4 3 3 2 (H) 4 4 0 0 4 2 (s ) 0 0 3 3 3 3 (B) 2 2 0 0 5 4 Total 7 7 7 6 12 11 Percent positive for mites 100 .0 85. 7 73. 3 September (L-^C) 2 1 1 1 1 1 (M) 2 1 2 2 1 1 (s ) 0 0 2 2 4 4 (B) 4 2 6 6 5 5 Total 8 4 11 11 11 13. Percent positive for mites 5 0 .0 100,0 100 .0 October (UK) 1 1 1 I 4 3 (M) 1 1 0 0 8 8 (s ) 3 2 3 3 7 6 (2) 7 7 3 3 11 10 Total 12 11 7 7 30 27 Percent positive for mites 91.7 100.0 90.0 November (L-K) 1 0 4 2 1 0 (M) 0 0 0 0 4 4 (s) 4 2 7 5 6 3 (B) 4 4 3 3 4 4 lotal 9 6 14 10 1? 11 Percent positive for mites 66,7 71. 4 73. 3 Continued .. - 3 - Table 13 b (Continued) Culti- Domestic/ Forest vated neridomestic c? *o © Year and Locality riontb » ii) gj ‘W Total 13 7 16 13 28 26 Percent positive for mites 53t.s 81.2 92.9 1971 January (L-K) 6 1 4 3 4 2 (M) 3 3 3 3 •7 1 (s) « 1 5 0 4 1 (L) 1 1 1 1 4 3 Total IS 6 13 7 19 13 Percent positive for mites 37,5 53.8 68.4 February (L-K) 1 1 3 2 5 3 (M) 3 0 0 0 1 1 (s) 12 3 4 4 4 2 r» (B) 5 2 2 2 4 D Total 21 6 9 8 14 9 Percent positive for mites 28,6 88,8 64.3 March (L-K) 1 0 3 0 4 3 (M) 4 1 3 1 3 2 (S) 5 0 2 1 6 3 (B) 4 2 4 2 9 2 Total 14 3 12 4 22 10 Percent positive for mites 21.4 33.3 45.5 April (L-K) 1 0 2 1 3 1 (M) 3 0 4 3 1 1 (s) 2 1 3 1 2 1 (B) 2 1 2 1 2 2 Total 8 2 11 6 8 5 Pertent positive for mites 25.0 54.5 62.5 May (L-K) 4 2 0 0 1 1 (M) 2 1 4 0 5 2 is) 5 1 3 3 4 2 (B) 2 1 0 0 2 2 Total 13 5 7 3 12 7 Percent positive for mites 38.5 42,8 58.3 Continued .. - 4. - Table 13 b (Continued) CUiTi-" iJomestic/ Forest vated peridcmestic Year and •o © (U ’Q « Locality o > Month c •rl C -H m « "tH +* « S O 2 ^ (A 4-» rt « +» « 0> +» ?! o •H X o - June (L-K) o 3 3 3 6 3 (M) 4 3 6 3 r » 1 n (S) 3 1 2 X 7 2 (B) 4 2 4 2 3 1 Total 16 9 15 9 18 7 Farceut positive fo r ~itcs 56.2 fiO.0 38.8 July (L-K) 0 0 a 3 7 4 (M) 6 1 4 4 4 2 ( s ) 7 3 8 5 13 11 (B) 5 2 4 4 3 1 ir Total 38 6 21 16 27 18 Percent positive for mites oJ«o 76.2 6 6 . 6 August (L-K) 9 4 2 1 5 5 ( b ) 2 2 4 4 3 3 Total 19 9 13 8 26 20 Percent positive for mites 47,4 61.5 76.9 September (L-K) 2 1 3 1 1 1 (M) 0 0 0 0 8 6 (S) 10 6 0 0 6 4 (B) 3 1 1 0 13 12 Total 15 8 4 1 28 23 Percent positive for mites 54.2 71.7 72.8 Table 14 Chigger-index according to host species collected from the Western ghats Lonavla- Mulshi Sinhgarh Bhor area Grand Total Khandala area area area Host species •d •o ■o *d 1 « 1. Suncus murinus 73 22,364 91 19,839 115 31,529 138 33,821 417 10,7,553 257.9 2. Hillardia indica - - - - 22 5,276 - - 22 5,276 239.8 3. Hattus rattus 13 1,851 1 123 1 7 9 1,131 24 3,112 129.6 satarae 4, Hillardia • 1 93 1 168 2 261 130.5 meltada 5* Bandicota benga- • 1 21 5 369 » • 6 390 65.0 lens is 6. Rattus rattus 9 710 32 1,458 29 731 28 1,744 98 4,643 47.4 rufescens 7, Rattus blanfordi 42 303 14 50 20 1,127 12 103 88 1,583 18.0 8. Funambulus t r l - 2 56 5 14 5 136 12 206 17.2 striatus 9, Hus cervicolor 1 0 4 11 - 13 239 18 250 13.9 10. Golunda e llio t i 1 0 ■■ - 8 103 - - 9 103 11.4 11. Hus platythrix 37 285 27 195 74 395 17 159 155 1,034 6.6 12. >his muscuius 2 0 - - 2 26 - 4 26 6.5 13* Mus booduga 7 0 11 77 14 36 13 96 45 209 4.6 14, Peradoxurus her- 1 178 1 178 178.0* maphroditus IS, Bandicota indica - 1 870 - - - 1 870 870.0* Total 187 25,569 183 22,737 295 39,613 237 37,775 S02 1,25,694 « Not Significant r4—' Table 15 Species of Trombiculid elites and their percentages collected during the period Jan. 1970 to Sept. 1971 Note: Total number of mites collected :!,25,694 Actual number of mites examined:12,897 SI. Percent in No. Species the total mi tes examined 1. Leptotrombidium (L .) deliense 9,98 2. L. (L ,) akamushi 0.80 3. L. (L .) aultisetosum 0.70 4. L. (L.) pelta 0.36 5. L. (L .) sinhgarhense sp. nov. 7,80 6. L. (L .) n. sp. 1 4.50 7. Ij * (Xj • / Ha sp a 2 1.32 8. L. (L .) n. sp. 3 0.01 9. L. (L.) sp. 1 indet. 0.15 10. Trombicula (Trombicula) hypodormata 0.21. 11. Blankaartia (Blankaertia) sp. indet. 2.50 12. Herpatacarus (Cricams) longisetosa 3.00 13. Ascoschoengastia (Laurentella) indica 0.85 14. A. (L .) guptai sp. nov. 0,80 15. A. (Ascoschoengastia) sp. 1 indet. 4.36 16. A. (A .) sp. 2 indet. 0,15 17. Helenicula (Helenicula) sp. 1 indet. 0.08 18. H. (H.) sp. 2 indet. 0,07 Cont inued .. i i n - 2 - T able 15 ( Ct int ini;e d) SI. Percent in No. Species the total mi tes examined 19. Cahrliepla ( tJahrl iep ia > khaiidalperwis sp« nov, 1 0.54 20. 5,57 21. G. (G .) n, sp. 3 1.40 22. G. { G.) n. 9J3. 4 2.72 23. G. (G .) n, so, 5 0.30 24. G. (G .) n, so. 6 0.06 25. G. (G.) n. so. 7 0,06 20. Gahrliepia (Schoengastiella) argalea 1.01 27. G. (S 'e lla ) ceylonica 2.68 28. G. (S'ella) ligula 37.29 29. G. (S 'e lia ) punctata 4,30 30. G. (S 'e lla ) ramachandrai sp. nov. 1.67 31. G, (S 'e lla ) n. so. 1 0,80 32. G, (S'ella) n. sp. 2 1.53 33. G, (S'ella) n. sp. 3 1.80 34. G. (S 'e lla ) n. sp. 4 0.01 35. G. (S 'e lla ) n, sp. 5 0.25 36. G. (S 'e lla ) sp. 1 indet. 0.26 Total 100 T f c - CD CO rH 0, 58 QO co CO CM 00 t-H 00 0 • • . • 1 • 1 • • • 1 • • • w CO 00 CO 0 0 CM CM <0 IP CO CM 0 CM CM CO CM M • • 1 1 • 1 • 1 1 1 1 H 1 9 CM fH CO 0 • C CO rH H CO 0 CO 05 Hp tn rH rH • * 1 1 • 1 1 1 1 i • • • 9 0 LO HP CM 0 t - o rH CO 'M' O CM to C3 1 1 1 • 1 • 1 1 1 • • 1 1 3 0 to CO CM •9 c C5 o 05 CO CO •tH So s ; O CO t - • 1 1 1 1 • 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 • - • ' • (Q 0 0 H CO O 4* 4 CM a n o o> o TJ <0 CM 00 •S 2 b 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 • I U CO CM CM o HP pt4 <3 0 o T f CO 05 05 Hp u 05 o c - t - CO (O • ' • P4 o o CM <0 CM CO i-» rH rH CM 4= t - <0 to CM 58 CM CM 05 43 I . • . • I • I • CM CM O CM c o bO £ t H . s CM <75 t - lO to rH U, <75 <0 sg to 05• • - • •3 H o o O o o o CQ JS +• O o o O O O o O o o o o a xP s to t - rH rH 1 -i CO ■M* t - rH to rH u • •' • ' • • • • • lO CM O o o ■O' HP o M 05 ■cp O 05 ■H a , 05 m O •§ •S •o •§ •rt + » rH CM CO c (0 e 43 0 | •rH . s .3 .5 ffl (S • • • K | +* .3 •S t£ C3, (X cu e « l « SmpP « rH CM K | + » CM •a 43 «0 03 •P P m (0 ta •H I (B H O CM CO to 00 t - CO CO t - CO O CO 00 co 05 T-i t - 00 i n CO rM • . • ' • ' • • I rH 1-1 3 o ' i ' C- o o o ►o i CM ♦ I rH C- "Cf a> a> LA t o 00 ■M' rH ■cC CO rH <35 O i t - o> CM 00 0 CH t - 0 c a 8 CO rH 3 • ■ « ' • 1 • • 1 • • • • 1 • tH rH CO 0 CO CO 0 CM 3 in CM H rH ° s rH *r> CM + 1 C CO o c - CO 05 O o s ; ; 00 CO t- o o •H • ' • ' • » - l -H n * O H a o in CO + 1 4^ 0 ) o o 00 o CM o CM ■M' ■«# c - CM ■M* CM i • t • ' • tH S . g o o o H + 1 c V CO CM CM in CO CM o u CM CO 00 o CM o CM bl lx I • I • • “ i I «H o o CO H o C14 U3 + 1 0 0 <35 in t - •M' c t “ 05 CO CM § CO o a> • ' • I I rH • 2 CM CM o CO 'Ml rH • in fe . m + 1 C - ■M' 05 05 CM in ■M' i n CM rM Ed in 05 H o o o « • ' » ' • • ' • ' • CM O CO o O O O H CO ►a 8 + 1 O o o O o o o CO CM CO 05 CO i - 00 c U • ' •' • ' rH ® o CO i n i n o CM O rH Q hc + 1 rH t - rH C35 CO t - o CO rH o 05 CO $ in HJC t - o CO TJ > • • • rH CM V O 05 CM CM rH oa CM 00 CM 5 ! H + 1 05 1 0 CO Hj* CO CO o t - CJ5 t - CO o rH 00 i n o t - So CO i n rH O Hf o CM 3 ■H • • • • ■ X • ' • rH CM O CJ O o CM o CM CO •M* o o o O + 1 CM 05 CM Hj< rH CO <35 C5) CM •O' O I CO rH s in S CO o 00 rH 1 *' i-H i n t - o o O rH n , • • • • • •' rH CM e O ■M* CM CSI c o m in C- CO O CM CM in tn CM + 1 <35 CO CO CO CO CM CO CM X> rH CM ■M* CM t - o U' O CO (S 0 0 • . • fH o 3 CO o o i n o m t - ■=3 CM + 1 05 t - CM t - CM CM CO 00 rH CM iH CO i n Hj* 00 CO 8 S^ CO • • ' • • •' • r + 3 O CO o CM CM ■M* CO lA CM + 1 HJ* 00 o CM CO i n O m -M' m CO 5 CM o M C H f 3 ♦ ■ • ' • ' • rH H 3 CO c - rH CM o CO (0 * 3 rH § + 1 05 Ctx 0 0 CO CO in O rH rH LO c - s ; o . g • • • • ' rH o O CM o in + 1 3 00 CO 00 Hi* a> m i n 00 O 8 rH r*H rH C35 CM CM So e - S5 rH o 05 (x tx • # • • • • ' • • ' • rH rH <0 O. O 4)» O CO rH U3 CM o o CO O Ox • < CO + 1 05 CO CO CO CO CO O O O CO CM ai o c 00 • • m rH rH t - o t - CM O in + 1 05 c o <75 05 HT 3 5 O CO i n O TT m i n o • • ' H r® i n o i n CO fie* i n + 1 00 in CO e o CO IS rH <0 o rH CO • rH CM I o CM t - ►o + 1 3 U 3 •H CM CO i n rH 3 3 3 J3 rH O rH H-» u CM CO •O' i n CD t - O rH U 3 a a a a a a > 3 a n 3 3 3 3 3 • • • • • • 3 I 0 1 w a a a a a a Vi U O j tx n w C CO CO 10 (0 n Vi (0 3 .r«-V . ^ tiC 3 O •S • • • • • • c A (0 <0 (d 03 «c 9 U o 3 3 3 3 8 3 fH tH fH rH rH rH tx e C . CO s rH rH rH rH •H rH r ^ rH rH H rH ® o a *d JB 9 « (d 9 9 9 9 9 a S5 3 t o • • • ruf9 r^9• » o •• «3 m «■> L i <3 m- m m » m a 3 rH s 0 | 0 1 t "• ’ 1 V) ■r- cn w cn t n cn t n c n k s ' ^ . g + • cs • • • 9 • • o ^ § 1 W | o i o | C )| 0 1 C | 0 1 0 1 0 1 c t i ib\ C5| 0 1 0| C3| e| C5| Sh H 3 CJ5 rH CM CO LO CO 00 CJ5 CM CO in CO Hi !s rH CM CM CM CM CM CM Sd CM CM 8 Jo CO CO CO CO V- V5. V t ■S5. ■"A ^5 . v s . CC I f lr> in fH O O t - fH to o CO » • • • CC • • • CO • • • • u t - • i OS CM o • o o 1 t - • H 1 • 1 CM o CM 1 U3 to CO o LO o fH to o H fH r4 fH •H •o r4 fH o c - CM to o o H to to to w 5 > • • • 1 • • • • 1 • • • • 1 1 1 • 1 1 1 bO o c~ to N CO t - o CM 00 to ID S ;? r4 rA rA u> C- fH So •H "S O +* U) tH O CO •M' 00 to CM CM to fH CJ 03 • • • 1 • « • 1 1 1 • • • 1 1 • 1 1 • • O u ')* O C3 c> CM o ■M* 00 CM •M* t - o CO 04 CO o> fH « A» tM fH O 00 CO oo CO M o< • • • 1 • 1 • 1 1 i i • • I 1 1 1 1 • • c o <41 iO 04 t - o oo CM 05 •H w H to I - l » (P +» t - CJ o t - t - 00 30 M) • • « 1 • 1 1 1 1 1 1 • 1 1 1 1 1 1 • • 8 3 CO CO 00 00 O < CSl F3 fH ■o o •H o>t~ zs iH 05 CO o ■M* o CM CO CO o • 1 1 1 • 1 1 1 1 • ♦ • 1 • 1 1 1 1 • • •H 1 C35 T)< O O i H CM fH rH 8 s:: 1 0 & •H -H 4^ to ■M* to CO t - 09 rs G • 1 1 1 • 1 1 1 1 1 • • 1 1 • 1 1 1 • • «w S3 fH CM CM fH M CO O M* CO I- f , H m ■H f-4 to o 05 CO CM c - CO •H (U • 1 1 • 1 • 1 1 1 • • t 1 • • 1 1 1 • • A O C<4 rA CM 00 CM to r -l CM as «S fH CM iH > Ch o 05 to o r1 O r 4 04 CO •"f to to t - CO C3> O fH CM CO to to t - OO 05 O tf. 55 fH fH H fH H H i -t iH C4 r—1 's5. (35. ’6,5. 6 5 . of +> c o O o o o o o O o o o o o o o o o s o o o 8 o O o o o o 1 t-J rM rH r ^ t H T -i ■H rH rH iH H iH tH t - l O i d * LO o CM t o ■x' tH • • • 1 1 • • • • • • m • 1 1 o Cvi r o CO CO CO H CM CO 1 iH CM CM iH H £ OC CO t o 05 o e - ID CO in » > • • • 1 1 # 1 • • • • • • I 1 1 o CO lO t o 00 •M' CO t - o o 2 ■M* tH H C*! •<* CM t o o t - (O CO O CO +> • • 1 1 1 • • • # • • • • 1 1 1 o <7> to c CO ID 00 CM t H CO 05 o H rH CO to iO •M* s o c » o > CO o e - 00 r-H CM ID CO t o : 1 • • 1 1 1 • • • • • • 1 1 1 O 05 CO H 05 t - CM t - CM t- X CM H iH 05 <4 e > CM t-4 00 8r- ID so (($ JS • • 1 1 1 1 • • 1 • • 1 1 1 I V CM (O ID c » CO >» I«4r® g rH H CO fS H • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • o i e | C5| o l 0 | 0| 0| oi 0| Ol C^i l i l O l t i l l e | H O CM CO X j' CO CM CO CD W 2 CM CM CM CM 8 CO CO 8 8 CO 'H Vi 3 U lA rH tj II 0) +» X)| a tH + + tH + ■d 1-1 03 o i\ u n 00 a u ’fJl H ♦ + ♦ 9 s bO bC II •H x: u d l « CO + n| tH + o I c o •H -SJ IS •S 3 c X) x: pnl v< 03 TJ o, x:f o T3 •H S3 PT| Vi 03 03 +> «1 a •H + + O e + + + ♦ >» 0 3 + + + •o c« ol*| + 3 o m o> os + + + o 'm | <30 + •V + + •"S b r-t • • • H O CO CO lO t o b - 00 a > O M CO lA C£3 t - W> SC T-C tH H r -i m + + + 51 H + + + t + 51 CO + i \ + ■f ♦ + 5 ! 61 CM 51 m + + o i ' + + o ■C + + CO + + •o o w e o Q. to H J3| + + ♦ « + + ♦ O) a p!i + t» 9 ■H 43 •H 9O S + 9 9 O i + O. B O f^*l m g M o M • z * + + + •o 00 + +» + "d ♦ t * + + + a : t t t t i ; + + t + ♦ ■f •H SI + + O + + 9 «-» wl CO 1 d •W t-4 I a> s: cn cx ■ CM CO bO v> •rl in % + w c • M bC H ...MM, s 41 a p< Cb t : ( h .4 ^ y»-v CM a Q. S •r1 to fti «k CO to so K tn c to Si rH -s a} •H *2c c> 9 a u s:; «> m •» «> 0) ■K n •» •> , • tJ <3 CTi C «3 C/5 CO t o CO CO *2 8 42 w ss C/5 •C • • • • • ■'W' Ct V3 o| e>l o| o j o| o i Zy •rH VS J2 > ! M o | ui ei W l j OI O i OI 0 | O I c i l OI 0*1 o l 0*1 C5I O I o| o| • « • • • • • • • • • • • H O m o> o rH CM CO -M* to CO o> O CM iA : z iH H CM C*» CM CM CM i S CM CM CM CO So CO U Pi ^ Table 19 Habitat distribution of chiggers collected from the Western ghats during the study period SI. Forest OoiMStic/pGridomcstic Cultivated iv w • Species Actual No. Percent Actual No. Percent Actual No, Percent examined examined examined 1. L. (L . ) dallense 278 9 403 7 606 16 2. L. (L .) akamuslii 28 1 54 1 18 « 3. L. (L .) multisatosum 8 « 80 1 1 * 4. L. (L.) pelta 10 « 23 « 14 « 5. L. (L .) sinhgarhense 152 4 618 10 235 6 6. L. (L.) n, sp, 1 217 7 288 5 76 2 7. L. (L .) n, sp* 2 32 1 124 2 14 * 8. L. ( L . ) n, sp. 3 1 « - m m 1 * 9. L. (L .) sp. 1 indet. 7 « 6 « 7 * 10. T. (T .) hypodermiila 5 « 15 7 « 11. B .(B .) sp. indet. 208 6 60 1 32 1 1?-. H. (C.) lonrisetosa 97 3 155 2 136 3 13. A* yijm} JLuuxc^a A n , 8 * 2 « 14. A . ( L .) guptai 31 1 30 # 43 1 15. A. ( a .) s o . 1 indet. 97 3 310 5 156 4 16. A. ( a .) sp. 2 indet. 2 ■ » 7 « 11 « 17. H. (H.) sp. 1 indet. 4 * 4 > 1 f t 18. H. (H .) sp. 2 indet. am - 10 « - - 19. G. (G .) khandalaensls 21 « 24 « 25 1 20. G. (G.) n. sp. 2 381 12 267 4 70 2 21. G. (G .) n. sp, 3 27 1 68 1 83 2 22. G. (G .) n, sp, 4 111 3 144 2 96 2 23. G# S | 3 # 5 6 * 4 « 25 1 24. G, (G .) n, sp, 6 4 « 2 « 3 « 25. G. ( G , ) n. sp. 7 8 « - - 1 •» 26. G. (S.) argalea 39 1 G7 1 25 1 27. G. (S .) ceyl.onica 207 6 44 1 95 2 28. G, (S.) lig'ila 758 23 2,595 44 1,456 38 #r 29. G. (S .) punctata 155 \ j 126 2 274 7 Continued .. 12^1 C CP o o CM « o Vi :§ •d .a t - r-( § O) •o (/> CM t- CM 00 « 3 ’a rr in If) «» td tJ S § a < ® c I o +» o d o o s u o ® I a> Vi CM u tr4 O tv ♦ I ® a •H ® 03 o c •s ® I •a H CM CO -M* iO a « • • • • •H •» Oc C4 o< a* 04 0) «0 «0 «Q o •H • • • • • a . + » u c c 0 0 0 CO o o -V —N. z tnp. • • • • 73l Smo* •w* + » • • • • • o 0 | o| o l o i 01 El 1—) o • • • # • (O a: (O 5j CO CO CO Table 2 0 Sites of attachaient of tronhiculid aitea found on small mammals collected from West ern ghats during the study period SI, Species of maasials —------Me. positive for site/percent pcstii^e No, and No, positive —■ • ■ jitnS for mites Inside ear Ear pin;*a Thigh Fcrc arm Tail Teals Louy 1, Suncus murinus (382) 6/1,6 1/0.3 1/0.3 3/0.8 2, Pgiradoxurus henna- l/lOO.O - - - - - phroditus (1) 3, Funambulus tris tr- o/iOO.O - - - - iatus (S) 4, Millardia meltada (2) 2/100.0 2/100.0 m - m - 5. Millardia indica (21) 17/30.9 5/23.8 1/4.8 - - 8/88.1 6. Golunda e llio t i (5) 5/100,0 -- - - - 1 /20.0 7, Rattus r, rufescens 53/84.1 7/11.1 2/3 ,2 - - •■1 « (63) S. Rattus r, satarae (22) 21/95.4 1/4.5 - mt - mm M 9. Rattus blanfordi (24) 11/45.8 11/45.R - - - 1 /4 ,2 4/15.0 « ■ 10, Bandicota benKalensis 5/100,0 - - - 1/20 <5) 11, Bendicota indica ( l ) l/lOO.O - - - - - 12. Ifcs musculus (2) 2/100,0 1/50.0 - - - c a 13. Mus plat:,'i:hrix (43) 35/81.4 8/18,C - - 2/4.6 14. Mus booduga (17) 9/52.9 8/47.0 1/5.9 - - 15. Mus cervicolor (10) 4/40.0 7/70.0 - - - - 1 X I i i 7 O'. I A 7 l3'5 < > ♦ • • ' . » t'-''-•» •■,■■■ iviV ' i ^ ( j "---->,' ^^-v If.7^ - , , . v 'v^--'*. ■ M. ■ % *9kL VcV' ' ’i-^- -‘ ' •■ .»', . \ V ..■ -\ • '•-Vv’’''..' ■ . ■ ■*''' - ;^' 1oJL ,T'*7- t ;. . * '-'•s '. ■ * Ik:* ^*.- . ** t: *■ -1^7. ate?' 1 . rt > J-> . .. .- 132 /,■ V -1 - 133 ..««*r>•—- ..." .-J ' r - - •’. Vr. „ «r* '•!. . ..'i" «RU^-1 i -r— ->■' ^MJec „-s*iwSA»fc^'«*-. '•l\: •^4 ' ’••: .’ k' - ' '.. a ■^■>. » . r» s?^t* ,Z.->n ^•- f. .V\ ;■ >■u*N - ■*. * ■ K-:-.'. * •■' 134 - f - ->»«i^- -• '.VI; ' V \ *6» '»i,, - \ \ .■*,'''^f -.^ ,; - f-, ;V ■>te* 'J3^y ■* '''lV^»f-. S.'-r'#- r « s ; : - ^ . ' • ^ jr'h .V> ' 1 3 ^ I3b ' ‘-a ^ i •«c' S s ? ^ ;3 *fr.‘v - '“^- \^' >"'V'.-' ^ Hi'^'“’'■'.'A. t Ir'-'T-^'f' .-/A *M ,^ 137 138 139 140