Ecogeographical variability of the chigger species Neotrombicula delijani Kudryashova, 1977 (Acari, Trombiculidae)

A.A.Stekolnikov

Entomologicheskoe obozrenie, 77(1): 229-238 (1998) (In Russian, English summary).

S U M M A R Y

Geographical variability of N. delijani is studed with the methods of mathematical statistics, a relation between some measurable characters and climatic characteristics of the localities is discovered. In the line: Leninsk (Volgograd Province) - Sukko (Black Sea coast of the Caucasus near Anapa) - Maykop (Western Caucasus) - Kislovodsk (Northern Caucasus) - Kurush (Southern Daghestan) and Musaelyan (Armenia) semi-desert landscape is replaced by Mediterranean one, then by the landscape of foothills of Western Caucasus, then by middle-mountain one and, finally, by high-mountain landscape. Incidentally, according to geographical literature, in this line degree of aridity and some temperature characteristics are obviously decreased. At the same time, as has appeared, size of the scutum (AW, PW, PSB, SD) and lengths of the setae (PL, Dm) are increased. These facts show good agreement with a tendency of the mites to diminutiveness in the droughty localities, revealed in the talmiensis group (Stekolnikov, 1996).