Evidence for fungivory in Proctotydaeus furnarius, a brood mite of the Australian stingless bee Tetragonula carbonaria
- 1The University of Sydney
Abstract
Mites are common but poorly understood associates of stingless bee nests. The brood mite Proctotydaeus furnarius inhabits brood cells of Tetragonula carbonaria and was hypothesised to feed on fungi. We tested this hypothesis using electron microscopy, ITS amplicon sequencing, dye-based feeding trials, and brood-cell culturing. The unarmed, needle-like stylets of P. furnarius resembled those of fungivorous mites. In feeding trials, P. furnarius consumed a yeast isolate (Zygosaccharomyces sp.) cultured from brood cells, although also consumed crushed bee pupae. Mite presence did not detectably alter the culturable brood-cell microbial community. These findings suggest that P. furnarius feeds on fungi inside host nests but could shift its diet to feed on host brood according to resource availability.
Related
- The antibacterial and antifungal activity of honey and propolis from the Australian stingless bee Tetragonula carbonaria
- Flower visitors and pollinator interactions on mustard (Brassica juncea): yield increase potential of stingless bees (Tetragonula pagdeni) across field systems
- How Many Factors Underlie the WAIS-5? Evidence From the Australian and New Zealand Standardization Sample.
- Fall of amalgam restoration: a 10-year analysis of an Australian university dental clinic
- Oral Health Mediates Income Decline Over Time in Australian Adults
BibTeX
@misc{price2026evidence,
title = {{Evidence for fungivory in Proctotydaeus furnarius, a brood mite of the Australian stingless bee Tetragonula carbonaria}},
author = {C. Price and J. Li and A. F. Pantoja and R. Seet and R. Gloag and K. E. Fernandes},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.26.762071},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.26.762071v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Evidence for fungivory in Proctotydaeus furnarius, a brood mite of the Australian stingless bee Tetragonula carbonaria
AU - C. Price
AU - J. Li
AU - A. F. Pantoja
AU - R. Seet
AU - R. Gloag
AU - K. E. Fernandes
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/26
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.26.762071
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.26.762071v1
AB - Mites are common but poorly understood associates of stingless bee nests. The brood mite Proctotydaeus furnarius inhabits brood cells of Tetragonula carbonaria and was hypothesised to feed on fungi. We tested this hypothesis using electron microscopy, ITS amplicon sequencing, dye-based feeding trials, and brood-cell culturing. The unarmed, needle-like stylets of P. furnarius resembled those of fungivorous mites. In feeding trials, P. furnarius consumed a yeast isolate (Zygosaccharomyces sp.) cultured from brood cells, although also consumed crushed bee pupae. Mite presence did not detectably alter the culturable brood-cell microbial community. These findings suggest that P. furnarius feeds on fungi inside host nests but could shift its diet to feed on host brood according to resource availability.
ER -