SEASONAL VARIATION IN PARASITISM BY LEPTUS MITES (ACARI, ERYTHRAEIDAE) UPON THE HARVESTMAN, LEIOBUNUM FORMOSUM (OPILIONES, SCLEROSOMATIDAE)

We recorded the number of ectoparasitic erythraeid mite larvae (Leptus sp. Latreille 1796) that were attached to 1241 Leiobunum formosum Wood 1870 from a population in southeastern Virginia. The prevalence of infestation (percent of individuals parasitized) exhibited significant annual and seasonal variation, ranging from 0.5% to 20.3%. The mean intensity of infestation (number of mites per parasitized individual) varied from 1.0 to 1.3, with a...