Persian Journal of Acarology
Volume:11 Issue: 2, Spring 2022

A compilation of marine halacarid and pontarachnid mites (Halacaridae and Pontarachnidae) found among seagrasses has been carried out based on published records. In this paper, we listed 92 halacarid and 8 pontarachnid mite species in seagrass habitats. These 92 halacarid species belong to 18 genera viz. Agaue (7 species), Agauopsis (10 species), Atelopsalis (1 species), Australacarus (1 species), Bradyagaue (1 species), Copidognathus (32 species), Halacarellus (3 species), Halacaropsis (2 species), Halacarus (5 species), Isobactrus (2 species), Lohmannella (2 species), Maracarus (1 species), Pelacarus (1 species), Rhombognathides (3 species), Rhombognathus (11 species), Scaptognathus (2 species), Simognathus (4 species), and Thalassarachna (4 species). Eight pontarachnid species belonging to two genera viz. Litarachna (4 species), and Pontarachna (4 species) are found in seagrass habitats. The real diversity and distribution of mites in seagrass habitats is far from being complete and future investigations may reveal further new taxa present in this environment.

Larvae of Abrolophus hajiqanbari sp. nov. (Trombidiformes: Erythraeidae) collected from soil and litter (off host) in Chahardeh and Chahkand villages, Birjand, South Khorasan province, Iran are described and illustrated. It belongs to Abrolophus group which lacks a comb-like seta on palptarsus. A key to the larval species of Abrolophus of the world without comb-like seta on the palptarsus is presented.

A new species of the genus Stigmaeus Koch, 1836 (Acari: Trombidiformes: Stigmaeidae), S. lorestaniensis sp. nov. is described and illustrated. This new species was collected from soil and litter under apricot tree, Prunus armeniaca L. (Rosaceae) in Lorestan province, southwest Iran.

A compilation of marine halacarid mites (Halacaridae) found with ascidians (sea squirts) has been carried out based on published records. In this paper, we listed 19 species found with ascidians, altogether. These 19 species belong to 7 genera, viz. Agaue (3 species), Arhodeoporus (1 species), Copidognathus (8 species), Halacarus (1 species), Lohmannella (2 species), Rhombognathides (1 species), and Thalassarachna (3 species). Most of these reports are from mixed habitats and all these species which were found among ascidians were reported also from other habitats. Most of the cases of halacarids on acidians may be occasional invaders.

Cultivating resistant genotypes can be an efficient method for keeping mite populations below levels that cause economic damage in crop plants because it is inexpensive and can be integrated with other pest control tactics. The present work evaluated the resistance of nine experimental strawberry genotypes (MCA89, MFA444, MCA93–01, MFA443–01, MFA451, MCA111, MOGSC468, MFA443, and MDA22) to the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch compared to two commercial cultivars (Camarosa and Dover). Laboratory oviposition assays were performed using excised leaf discs. Although significant differences were observed in mite's oviposition, none of the strawberry genotypes stood out for high resistance levels. The lowest oviposition averages were found in the genotype MDA22 (abaxial 17.13 ± 4.20 and adaxial 30.63 ± 6.80), resulting from a cross between cv. Dover and cv. Aromas, genotypes considered to have intermediate resistance to T. urticae. In addition, MDA22, provided neutral stimulus for mite's oviposition on the abaxial and adaxial surfaces. Given the results, MDA22 genotype should be used as a parent for new crossings in breeding programs that aim to increase the genetic basis of genotypes adapted to Brazilian edaphoclimatic conditions and resistant to T. urticae.

The mango red spider mite, Oligonychus mangiferus, is a dangerous pest of mango that causes an indirect reduction in the production and quality of mango fruits. Since there is an urgent need to control O. mangiferus, searching for native phytoseiids that can prey on O. mangiferus may provide promising results in the biological control of this mite pest. In this study, biological and life table parameters of the predatory mites Cydnoseius negevi, Neoseiulus barkeri, Paraseiulus talbii, and Typhlodromus athiasae were determined when fed on O. mangiferus under laboratory conditions. Cydnoseius negevi, N. barkeri, and T. athiasae were successfully fed and developed on O. mangiferus, while P. talbii failed to develop on O. mangiferus. The pre-adult duration did not differ significantly among the three phytoseiids. The longest female longevity was 40.28 days for N. barkeri, while the shortest was 26.04 days for C. negevi. The lowest daily fecundity was observed in N. barkeri females, whereas the highest was oviposited by C. negevi and T. athiasae. Statistically, Typhlodromus athiasae had the maximum intrinsic rate of increase (r) and finite rate of increase (λ), followed by N. barkeri and C. negevi. The shortest mean generation time (T) and the lowest net reproductive rate (R0) were reported for C. negevi. In conclusion, C. negevi, N. barkeri, and T. athiasae successfully fed, developed and sustained oviposition on O. mangiferus. Therefore, they could be considered as important biological control agents of O. mangiferus.

The two-spotted spider mite (TSSM), Tetranychus urticae Koch, is a major pest of strawberry crops and pest management strategies are essential to control it. Life table parameters are useful tools for evaluating resistance or susceptibility of host plants to pests. So, the effects of application of some fertilizer compounds on two strawberry cultivars (i.e. Festival and Fortuna), as a resistance inducer (i.e. fulvic acid, humic acid, potassium citrate, and calcium carbonate), have been investigated on biological characters and life table parameters of T. urticae under laboratory conditions. Results indicate that the oviposition period, adult longevity period and fecundity of T. urticae females were significantly affected when reared on leaf disks of two cultivars treated by above-mentioned fertilizer treatments. The number of deposited eggs per mite female also was remarkably different among the treatments and lower than that of the control. The fertilizer compounds significantly reduced the net reproductive rate (R0) and intrinsic rate of increase (r) compared to the control. Similarly, the finite rate of increase (λ) and gross reproduction rate (GRR) for the control were significantly higher than that of other treatments. The lower value of the intrinsic rate of increase (r) of T. urticae was recorded on Fortuna cultivar of strawberry plants treated by potassium citrate and calcium carbonate than that of other treatments. So, these compounds potassium citrate and calcium carbonate applied on could be relative resistance inducers for Fortuna cultivar of strawberry plants that decrease T. urticae populations. This suggests that these inducers with Fortuna cultivar could be employed toward a sustainable management of T. urticae.

The eriophyid mites, Aceria kenyae (Keifer), A. mangiferae Sayed, and Calepitrimerus baileyi Keifer are important phytophagous pests in Egypt. In this study, the effect of the above-mentioned eriophyids, as natural prey, on the biological and population growth parameters of the phytoseiid mite, Typhlodromus athiasae Porath & Swirski was evaluated. This phytoseiid can successfully develop and reproduce on A. kenyae, A. mangiferae, and C. baileyi. Individuals of T. athiasae fed on A. mangiferae displayed the shortest pre-adult development, while those fed on A. kenyae and C. baileyi took more time to reach the adult stage. Adult female longevity of T. athiasae was longer on A. mangiferae (36.79 days) than on A. kenyae (31.65 days) and C. baileyi (31.18 days). The total number of eggs per T. athiasae female was the highest on A. mangiferae, followed by A. kenyae, and C. baileyi (46.29, 37.62, and 34.39 eggs/female, respectively). Presently, feeding of T. athiasae on A. mangiferae resulted in the maximum intrinsic rate of increase (r), finite rate of increase (λ), and net reproductive rate (R0) as compared to the other prey. In addition, preying on A. mangiferae showed the shortest mean generation time (T), while A. kenyae showed the longest one as prey of T. athiasae. In conclusion, the present results showed that the T. athiasae population could display a high capacity to increase when preying on the tested eriophyids (especially on A. mangiferae). So, this predator may be capable of providing effective management of these eriophyid mites.

Different host plants can affect the performance of herbivores and their natural enemies. The life history of the mirid predator, Macrolophus pygmaeus Rambur, was studied after feeding on Tetranychus urticae Koch eggs reared on the solanaceous plants, including tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. cv Nora) and sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L. cv Kadia) under laboratory conditions. According to the age-stage, two-sex life table theory, developmental time, survival rate, and fecundity were analyzed. The results showed that premature developmental time of the predator was shorter when they were fed on tomato-reared spider mites than on sweet-pepper-reared spider mites. Some population parameters [Intrinsic rate of increase (r), Net reproductive rate (R0) and Mean generation time) of M. pygmaeus were significantly affected by the host plants. Mean number of T. urticae eggs consumed by different stages/sexes of M. pygmaeus was calculated based on the age-stage two-sex consumption rate model. The results indicated that the consumption rate increased from nymph to adult in both sexes. The net predation rate (C0) was 547.98 ± 24.00 and 381.6 ± 18.04 mites on tomato and sweet pepper, respectively. Transformation rate from prey population to predator offspring (Qp) was 7.11 ± 0.18 and 5.60 ± 0.24 on tomato and sweet pepper, respectively. The results showed that the survival and reproductive rate of M. pygmaeus was higher when they fed on T. urticae eggs laid by tomato-reared adults compared to sweet pepper-reared individuals. This study provides an opportunity to better understand the interactions of the three trophic levels through considering host plant importance in the success of biological control.

The control of the two-spotted spider mite (TSSM),Tetranychus urticaeKoch, a worldwide agricultural pest, is largely dependent on pesticides. However, their efficacy is often encountered by the development of resistance. The present study was conducted to evaluate resistance levels to five pesticides with different modes of action in field population of T. urticaecollected from tomato plants grown in open fields at Bernasht village, El-Ayat, Giza Governorate, Egypt,using leaf-dip technique. These pesticides were dimethoate, chlorpyrifos, and ethion (organophosphates), etofenprox (pyrethroids), and abamectin (avermectins). Moreover,the common resistance mutations associated with different groups of pesticides in T. urticaewas identified by quantitative sequencing. Veryhigh resistance levels of TSSM to organophosphate pesticideswere observed in Eg-Bernasht population. Also, the nucleotide sequences were aligned, megablasted, and compared for similarity with the corresponding genes indifferent databases such as NCBInucleotide collection (nr/nt). Of the five common mutations associated with organophosphate and carbamate pesticides, three mutations were identified in Eg-Bernasht population:a threonine residue was replaced by alanine (T280A), glycine was replaced by alanine (G328A),and phenyl-alanine was replaced by tryptophan (F331W). One of the three common mutations associated with pyrethroid pesticides, alanine was replaced by aspartic acid (A1215D). Further two substitutions of amino acids, leucine to valine (L988V) and aspartic acid to glutamic acid (D1569E) werealsoidentified. The common mutations associated with the target site of avermectins (glutamate-gated chloride channels, GluCl1,GluCl3) and etoxazole pesticide (chitin synthase, CHS1) were absent in Eg-Bernasht population. Also, with glutamate-gated chloride channel genes in one clone of Eg-Bernasht population, two substitutions of alanine to leucine (A308L) and valine to leucine (V309L) were identified. The results obtained from the current investigation indicated that four common mutations associated with pesticide resistance were presentin the field population of T. urticae. These mutations were T280A, G328A,and F331W in the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) gene and A1215D in the voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) gene.An improved understanding of acaricides resistance in TSSM is important to maintain the efficacy of these chemicals for the control of this pest in tomato and other crops.We recommend focusing on the use of integrated pest management programs and pesticide alternativelyto manage resistance.

Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) is known to be a serious pest in cotton fields worldwide. In this research, monitoring of T. urticae was done based on satellite data by using the time series of vegetation index and climatic factors through near real-time assessment. The current study aimed to determine correlations between the population dynamic of T. urticae and the effects of Absorbing Aerosol Index (AAI) depicted by Sentinel-5 Precursor, Sentinal-2 NDVI (10 m), Land Surface Temperature (LST), MODIS-Evapotranspiration (ET), and CHIRPS precipitation. Spider-mite outbreak was found to be coincided with wheat harvesting where several dusty days were experienced with a high aerosol index of 0.167. Rainfall had a significant negative correlation with T. urticae populations (R2 = 0.378), while a threshold precipitation level of at least 2 mm was estimated for cleaning up the canopy. No significant pattern could be found between temperature and T. urticae populations until August 2020. Yet, significant positive relationships were weekly observed during August 2020 (R2 = 0.3519, 0.1283, 0.1675, and 0.178). Evapotranspiration (ET) displayed a statistically synchronous relationship with T. urticae dynamism (R2 = 0.637). Also, there was a positive correlation between increasing NDVI and T. urticae population until August 2020 and then, it changed to a negative pattern (R2 = 0.273 and 0.139). Based on these findings, AAIs of Sentinel-5 and MODIS-evapotranspiration had the potential to forecast spider-mite population with high temporal resolution.
 

The larvae of the Erythraeidae are parasites of various arthropods, including insects and spiders whereas postlarval erythraeids are predators (Gerson et al. 2003). Erythraeus larvae are divided into two subgenera on the basis of the ASens which inserted in sclerotized and angled socket which in Zaracarus and without sclerotized and angled socket in Erythraeus (Xu et al. 2019). There are 28 larval species of Zaracarus which are distributed in different countries of Asia (Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, China), Europe (Bosnia and Hercegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Montenegro, Turkey, Poland, Spain, Italy, Ukraine, Cyprus) and Africa (Ethiopia), There is not any record of this subgenus from Nearctic, Neotropical and Australian regions. Among them, E. (Z.) budapestensis Fain & Ripka, 1998 [syns.: E. (Z.) hamedanicus Khanjani, Mirmoayedi, Nahad & Fayaz, 2010; E. (Z.) preciosus Goldarazena & Zhang, 1998; were collected from 10 countries (Mąkol and Wohltmann 2012, 2013; Xu et al. 2019). Erythraeus (Zaracarus) lancifer was described based on larvae ectoparasitic on undetermined fly (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) from Ruerta de Pina, Pina, Zaragoza Province, Spain (Southcott 1995). In this paper, two specimens of the species were collected as ectoparasites of unknown species of Tetramorium (Hym.: Formicidae) in Mahneshan city, Zanjan province and additional biometric data are provided. The family Formicidae is recorded as a new host taxon for this subgenus. Two larvae (ARS–20211215–1a and 1b) ectoparasitic on unknown species of Tetramorium (Hym.: Formicidae) were collected on 5 August 2018 in Anguran Protected Area (36° 33΄ 08.41΄΄ N, 47° 36΄ 44.93΄΄ E, 5283 m a.s.l.), Mahneshan city, Zanjan province. Mites were detached and preserved in 75% ethanol and cleared in Nesbitt’s fluid and mounted using Faure liquid (Walter and Krantz, 2009). Measurements (given in micrometers) were made using BX–51 Olympus microscope equipped with a drawing tube and magnification changer. The terminology and abbreviations follow Wohltmann et al. (2006) and Saboori et al. (2009). They are deposited in the Acarological Collection, Jalal Afshar Zoological Museum, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran.

As the species composition and distribution of spider mites and eriophyid mites in the open ground of the Siberian region are not actually studied, this line of research was the purpose of our work.

Homeopathic preparations for red spider mite, Tetranychus urticae</em> (Acari: Tetranychidae) control in strawberry plants are used.

Nearly 60,000 species of Acari have been described in the world, many more await discovery and description. Persian Journal of Acarology has been one of the important journals for publishing articles on all aspects of acarology during the last 10 years (2012–2021). It published 315 papers including 248 articles, 63 correspondence articles, one monograph, and three book reviews by 188 authors during this decade, with descriptions of 66 new species. Four new genera were described in PJA in 2015 and 2016.