ABSTRACT
One of the more gaudy examples of modern phoresy is Colwell’s (1983) account of a mutualism among hummingbirds, the hummingbird ower mite (Rhinoseuis colwelli), and owers. The mites are transported inside the nasal passages of the hummingbird, from which they emerge onto the ower while the bird is feeding. Colwell commented that, “For their size, they run about as fast as a cheetah-a useful ability when they have only 2 or 3 sec to disembark from a long-billed hummingbird.” The mites then lay their eggs on the owers. Archibald and Mathewes (2000) cited a possible example of phoresy involving a march y and a beetle from the Early Eocene of British Columbia. Davis (1989) cited, but did not describe, a Dominican amber micropezid y with phoretic mites on the ovipositor.
