Introduction of Astigmatina and Oribatida Mites (Acari: Sarcoptiformes) associated with Stored Food Products in Mashhad county

The occurrence and activity of mites in stored foods cause a variety of qualitative and quantitative damages, including reduction in the germinating power of the grains, bronchial asthma and allergic skin reactions. Among the mites associated with stored products, species of order Sarcoptiformes especially some species of Astigmatina including the genera Acarus, Suidasia and Tyrophagousare have economic importance and a worldwide distribution. The members of family Histiosomatidae also are cosmopolitan and often found in moist organic materials. In Iran, there have been a considerable number of studies on astigmatic mites. Kamali et al. have provided a list of stored product mites. fthe work of Bahrami et al. on species diversity of Acaroidea in Tehran, Ardeshir on population of stored grains in different seasons in Iran;Sayedi et al. on mites associated with stored rice in Guilan can be mentioned. Reviewing the literature revealed that in the only study that has been carried out in the study area, only 6 species of storage mites have previously been reported from Khorasan-e- 䖬� province). Literature review showed that although Oribatida consists of 9000 known species in the world, the number of recorded species from Iran is not considerable. Iranian studies on oribatid mites have limited to a few specific areas and recent years. By considering the limitation of knowledge on species diversity of stored product mites in the study area, the present study aimed to improve our knowledge on the mite associated with the stored food products in Mashhad city and the vicinity.
Material and During years 2011−2012 a variety of food storages in Mashhad region were visited and sampled. These stored food products included wheat, barley, wheat bran, rice, flour mill, factories of pasta and bakeries, stockpiles of livestock’s food, and potato and onion storages in different parts of Mashhad. Mite specimens were extracted from infested materials by using Berlese-Tullgreen funnel. The specimens were cleared using either pure Lactic acid or Nesbitt’s mixture and then mounted in Hoyer's medium as microscopic slides. Using relevant references, mites were identified and then sent to the third and fourth authors for confirmation. Type specimens are held in the Acarological laboratory, Department of Plant Protection, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran.
Among the identified species, Histiostoma sapromyzarum (Dufour) has reported from Iran for the first time. New records for the study area are indicated by an asterisk. The list of identifying species is as below: I- Astigmatina- 1- Family Acaridae: Aleuroglyphus ovatus (Troupeau)*, Caloglyphus berlesie Michael, Acarus siro Linnaeus, Rhizoglyphus echinopus (Fumouze & Robin)*, R. robini Clapared, Tyrophagus longior Gervais*, T.putrescentiae (Schrank), 2- Family Chortoglyphidae: Chortoglyphus arcuatus (Troupeau)*, 3- Family Glycyphagidae: Lepidoglyphus destructor (Schrank)*, 4- Histiostomatidae: Histiostoma feroniarum (Dufour)*, H. sapromyzarum (Dufour), 5- Suidasiidae: Suidasia nesbitti Hughes*.
II- Oribatida- 1- Family Aphelacaridae: Aphelacarus acarinus (Berlese)*, 2- Family Cosmochthoniidae: Cosmochthonius sp.*, 3- Family Ctenacaridae: Ctenacarus araneola (Grandjean)*, 4- Family Galumnidae: Galumnadis cifera Balogh*, Galumnakarajica Mahunka & Akrami*, 5- Family Haplozetidae: Haplozetes sp.*, 6- Family Mesoplophoridae: Mesoplophora sp.*, 7- Family Oppiidae: Lasiobelba sp.*, 8- Family Oribatulidae: Oribatula (Oribatula) sp.*, O. (Zygoribatula) sp.*, O.(Zygoribatula) connexa Berlese*, O. (Zygoribatula) exarata Berlese*, 9- Family Scheloribatidae: Scheloribates fimbriatus Thor*.
In this study, 12 species of Astigmatina belonging to 9 genera of 5 families and 13 species of oribatid mites were collected and identified. Among them, one species, namely Histiosomas apromyzarum (Dufour) is a new record for the fauna of Iran. Twenty species were reported for the first time from Khorasan-e- Razavi province. Certainly, this list is far from reality. As many parts of the province have not been explored faunistically, with further research in different parts of the province, the recorded mite species would be considerably increased. Not only more faunistic studies are required further research on the biology and ecology of the recorded species is suggested. Also, it should be noted that on the basis of our records, the species T. putrescentiae was found to be the most common mite in the stored food products in Mashhad city and its vicinity.