During a 2-year ecological study of macrochelid mites in their natural habitat, the manure pile, free-living nematodes were found in close association with them. Field populations of Macrocheles muscaedomesticae (Scopoli) were highest in winter and spring, when freeliving nematodes evidently are most prevalent; emerging house flies transport these mites to other oviposition sites during the fly season. The exact food habits of the macrochelid Glyptholaspis confusa (Foà), another regular inhabitant of the manure pile, remain relatively unknown. Of the three nematode species cultured in the laboratory, namely Diplogaster sp., Panagrolaimus sp., and Rhabditella leptura, R. leptura proved the most easily reared and the best food for M. muscaedomesticae. The adult mites, given equal choice, preferred house fly eggs over nematodes, while proto- and deutonymphs under the same conditions preferred the nematodes. Standard fly larva rearing media (new, fermented, and used) were tested as substrates to replace steer manure in an effort to sustain a food chain of bacteria, nematodes, and mites within one culture. The highest mite reproduction rate (23.11±5.58 progeny per female per day) was achieved on used media (recovered after rearing fly larvae) with both house fly eggs and nematodes added as food. Nematodes alone returned 12.11±1.42 progeny per female per day. On fermented fly larval media, progeny return was as high on nematodes alone as with both nematodes and house fly eggs added. Cultures pre-seeded with nematodes 2 days before the introduction of mites were selfsustaining.
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Rodríguez et al. (1962) studied this question.