A total of 23 uropodine species of the genus Trachytes (Acari, Mesostigmata) are reliably recorded to occur in Central Europe and included in identification keys for adults (23 spp.) and deutonymphal stages (9 spp.), respectively. For the first time, the diagnostic characters of deutonymphs of the species T. baloghi, T. minima, T. minimasimilis, T. mystacinus and T. splendida are figured. Ten species found in Slovakia are redescribed (T. aegrota, T. baloghi, T. hirschmanni, T. irenae, T. lamda, T. minima, T. minimasimilis, T. mystacinus, T. pauperior and T. splendida) and characterised by their external morphology, geographic distribution and ecological requirements in terms of habitat preference, affinity to merocoenoses and vertical distribution. The zoogeographic origin of Trachytes is analysed. Most species are found only in woodlands and have not been recorded in the distribution area of the Pannonian flora in Central Europe (except for T. aegrota and T. baloghi). Short taxonomic remarks are given for the species of dubious taxonomic status or whose occurrence is not reliably known.
We examined the mesostigmatid mites found in four nest chambers of the dung beetle Copris lunaris (Scarabaeidae) in Slovakia. A total of 763 mites was found, belonging to ten species. The most frequent and abundant species were Pelethiphis opacus, Macrocheles copridis, Parasitus copridis, Uropoda copridis, Copriphis pterophilus, and Onchodellus hispani. The nests contained 19 dung balls, each enclosing a beetle pupa. Altogether 472 mites were found in these brood balls. A further 291 mites were found on the parental beetles in the nests. Three mite species were clearly more abundant in brood balls than on parental beetles, and these belonged to the life cycle stage that disperses by phoresy. The mites found in brood balls apparently disperse on the young adult beetles when they emerge. Only Parasitus copridis was more abundant on parental beetles than in brood balls. Different species of mites have developed different strategies for dispersal, as shown by their preferential attachment to either the parental or progeny generations of beetles.