Phenology of two syntopic Eukoenenia species in a northern Italian forest soil (Arachnida: Palpigradi)

Phenology of two syntopic Eukoenenia species in a northern Italianforest soil (Arachnida: Palpigradi). - The present paper provides
evidence for the co-occurrence of edaphic palpigrade species in Europe.
Eukoenenia mirabilis and E. gallii coexist in the soil of a cork oak
plantation on the Ligurian coast in northwestern Italy. Year-round
sampling there produced, for the first time in a temperate zone,
complete annual cycles of palpigrade populations. In the study area E.
mirabilis and E. gallii are univoltine. Both species reproduce in summer
and overwinter predominantly in the adult stage. The balanced sex-ratio
of the resident E. mirabilis population is remarkable, because males of
this widespread species are usually rare or absent.