First finding of the chigger mite Blankaartia acuscutellaris (Acari Trombiculidae) on a human host in Europe

G. Ripka and A.A. Stekolnikov

Belgian Journal of Entomology, 8 (2): 147-151 (2006).

S U M M A R Y

A report on the finding of the chigger mite species Blankaartia acuscutellaris (Walch, 1922) on a human in Hungary is presented. The species is a new record for the Hungarian fauna and is for the first time reported from a human in Europe. The feeding mites were found on the scalp and scrotum of an approximately ten year old boy after his visit to the reedy margin of the Lake Velence. Four of the 9 chigger specimens studied were distinctly engorged and two of them had developed stylostomes, indicating successful feeding.