Seasonal dynamics and niches of three vector chigger species at a focus of scrub typhus in southwest China

The three vector chigger species can parasitize a wide range of hosts with low host specificity, and their coexistence as the dominant mites at the survey site increases the potential risk of transmission and focus persistence of relevant mite-borne zoonoses. <i>Leptotrombidium deliense</i> and <i>L. imphalum</i> have similar seasonal distribution patterns (summer-autumn type) and host selection, and <i>L. scutellare</i> has a different type of seasonal fluctuation, autumn-winter type. The temporal and host niches of <i>L. scutellare</i> are very different from those of <i>L. deliense</i> and <i>L. imphalum</i>. The temperature is the most important climate factor that drives the seasonal dynamics of vector chiggers.