Confirming the presence of the phoront species Sennertia (Sennertia) gargantua Zachvatkin (Astigmata: Chaetodactylidae) dispersing on a Carpenter bee in Turkey

Sennertia is a diverse and widely distributed genus of mites within the family Chaetodactylidae, and the most successful group of mites in establishing phoretic relationships with bees. Although 77 valid species of Sennertia are known in the world, only two species, Sennertia (Sennertia) gargantua Zachvatkin and Sennertia (S.) zhelochovtsevi Zachvatkin have been recorded from Turkey. But, these two bee-associated species have not been noticed and not listed in the studies on mite fauna of Turkey. OConnor & Klimov in 2003 and Klimov & OConnor in 2008 stated that the distribution information of Sennertia (S.) gargantua in Turkey was probably an error. This paper reports the presence of Sennertia (S.) gargantua on a Carpenter bee in Turkey with an additional new record of the genus from Turkey, viz. Sennertia (S.) cerambycina (Scopoli). In the present work, a key to the known species for Turkey is also provided. It is noticed that genital setae are duplicated on the right side of an examined specimen of Sennertia (S.) gargantua. In the genus, some variations and local anomalies have been previously recorded; however, no abnormalities of the genital setae in Sennertia have been reported.