Occurrence of phoretic mites associated with flies in laying hens poultry houses in Brazil

Flies are often found in poultry facilities due to the utilization of bird faeces as a substrate for their larval development. Despite the use of pesticides for fly control in poultry houses, the potential contribution of natural enemies in assisting with fly control deserves attention. This study aimed to assess the diversity and abundance of predatory and phoretic mites associated with flies in two laying hens poultry houses in Minas Gerais, Brazil (ASA and GSJ). By placing 24 pan traps around the sheds of each poultry house, we captured adult flies and mites adhering to these flies over the course of three samplings in each poultry house. Musca domestica was found to be the most abundant fly species in both places. Phoretic, predatory and saprophagous mites belonging to the genera Prodinychus, Parasitus, Sejus, Callidosoma, Macrocheles, Eupodes and the family Nothridae were collected at GSJ. In contrast, only one mite genus, Trichotrombidium was found at ASA. In addition, a notable contrast in mite abundance was observed between the two poultry houses, with a total of 181 mite specimens associated with flies in the GSJ, compared to 13 in the ASA. While these findings underscore the presence of a diverse mite community associated with flies in poultry houses, we discuss the potential factors contributing to the observed differences between them, shedding light on the ecological contribution of mites within poultry houses.