Phytoseiid mites from tropical fruit trees in Bahia State, Brazil (Acari, Phytoseiidae)

By

Vieira De Souza, Izabel
Argolo, Poliane
Gondim Júnior, Manoel Guedes Correia
Moraes, Gilberto J. de (Gilberto José)
Bittencourt, Maria Aparecida Leão.
Oliveira, Anibal

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2015

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

533

Pages

99-131

Subjects

Acarology , Biological control , predatory mites , taxonomy

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.533.5981

 

Abstract

The cultivation of tropical fruit trees has grown considerably in the state of Bahia, northeastern Brazil. Some of these have been severely attacked by phytophagous mites, which are usually controlled by the use of chemical pesticides. However, there is today a growing interest for the adoption of less aggressive measures of pest control, as for example the use of predatory mites. Most of the plant-inhabiting predatory mites belong to the family Phytoseiidae. The objective of this paper is to report the phytoseiid species found in an intensive survey conducted on cultivated tropical fruit trees in fifteen localities of the southern coast of Bahia. Measurements of relevant morphological characters are provided for each species, to complement the understanding of the morphological variation of these species. Twenty-nine species of sixteen genera were identified. A key was elaborated to assist in the separation of these species. Fifteen species are reported for the first time in the state, raising to sixty-six the number of species of this family now known from Bahia. Seventy-two percent of the species collected belong to Amblyseiinae, followed by Typhlodrominae (21%) and Phytoseiinae (7%). The most diverse genus was Amblyseius. Amblyseius operculatus De Leon was the most frequent and abundant species. Studies should be conducted to evaluate the possible role of the most common predators as control agents of the phytophagous mites co-occurring with them.