Intensity of parasitic mite infection decreases with hibernation duration of the host snail.

Temperature can be a limiting factor on parasite development. Riccardoella limacum, a haematophagous mite, lives in the mantle cavity of helicid land snails. The prevalence of infection by R.

Surface and in-depth analysis of biological and organic materials by ion scattering spectroscopy (ISS).

In recent years, new surface analytical techniques such as auger electron spectroscopy (AES), secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), and ionscattering spectroscopy (ISS) have been developed. Some of these techniques have been used for the analysis of biological and organic materials with moderate success due to the problems inherent in the nature of these samples. The preparative techniques also complicate the application of many instrumental methods.