Complementary description of Panonychus caricae Hatzinikolis, 1984, with the resurrection of the genus Sasanychus Ehara, 1978 (Acari, Prostigmata, Tetranychidae).

A complementary description of Panonychus caricae Hatzinikolis, 1984, is presented based on the morphology of adult female and male individuals collected from fig trees (Ficus sp., Moraceae) in Greece. Morphological differences between Panonychus caricae and two closely related species, Panonychus ulmi (Koch, 1836) and Panonychus hadzhibejliae (Reck, 1947), are discussed. Panonychus caricae can be separated from two other Panonychus species using the length of the female dorsal setae in combination with the ratio between the length of female dorsal opisthosomal setae f2 and h1, and the ratio between the length of dorsal setae sc1 and h1. A phylogenetic maximum likelihood tree was constructed based on the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from 10 species of the subgenus Panonychus s.str. (including the re-described species P. caricae) and the only two species of the subgenus Sasanychus. The phylogenetic tree indicates that these 12 species are clearly separated from each other. The two subgenera, Panonychus s.str. and Sasanychus, comprise strongly supported monophyletic clades with 98% bootstrap values. The convergence of molecular and morphological data (dorsal setae set on tubercles or not, number of tactile setae on tibiae I and II, and patterns of the dorsocentral striae) suggests that Sasanychus should not be classified under the genus Panonychus. Consequently, molecular and morphological evidence supports the resurrection of the genus Sasanychus, which contains two species, S. akitanus (Ehara) and S. pusillus Ehara Gotoh, as distinct from Panonychus. A key to the world species of Panonychus and Sasanychus is also provided.

New species of the genus Eotetranychus (Acari, Prostigmata, Tetranychidae) from Japan.

Three new species of Eotetranychus (Acari: Tetranychidae) are described and illustrated from Japan. The new species and their host plants are as follows: Eotetranychus palatiensis sp. nov. from Morus australis Poiret (Moraceae), Eotetranychus carpinicolus sp. nov. from Carpinus laxiflora (Siebold et Zuccarini) Blume and C. cordata Blume (Betulaceae), and Eotetranychus linderae sp. nov. from Lindera umbellata Thunberg (Lauraceae). A maximum likelihood tree extracted from the above-mentioned species based on the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) indicated that these species are clearly separated from each other and from selected related species. A key to all Eotetranychus species known in Japan is given.

Morphological identification of Amphitetranychus species (Acari: Tetranychidae) with crossbreeding, esterase zymograms and DNA barcode data.

The genus Amphitetranychus Oudemans (Tetranychidae) consists of only three species, A. quercivorus (Ehara & Gotoh), A. savenkoae (Reck) and A. viennensis (Zacher). The original description of A. savenkoae was extremely simple and had no drawing of the aedeagus; however, a subsequent study described only the aedeagus. The present study investigated all three species in detail using a combination of morphological traits, crossbreeding experiments, esterase zymograms and the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. Morphological differences in the peritremes and male aedeagi were observed among the three species. Complete reproductive isolation was confirmed in the reciprocal crosses between the morphologically similar A. savenkoae and A. quercivorus (no female offspring were produced). Esterase zymograms differed interspecifically, but not intraspecifically (among individuals in a given species). All three species formed clearly separate clades with 100% bootstrap values in the COI tree, and A. savenkoae was more closely related to A. quercivorus than to A. viennensis, which corresponded to the morphological similarity of their aedeagi and setal counts on tarsi IV. A key to Amphitetranychus species is provided.

A new species of spider mite, Oligonychus neocastaneae sp. nov. (Acari: Tetranychidae), from Japan.

A new species Oligonychus neocastaneae sp. nov. is described and illustrated from Castanea crenata Sieb. et Zucc. (Fagaceae). The new species closely resembles Oligonychus castaneae Ehara Gotoh, 2007, which inhabits the same host plant, Castanea crenata, but mainly differs by the aedeagus in having a longer distal portion which forms a small sigmoid and acuminate tip, instead of having a shorter distal portion which ends in a truncate tip. Several differences were also observed between the two species in the leg setal counts of tarsus II in the male and female; the number of tactile setae and solenidia (in parentheses) was 11(1) for the female and male in the new species, but in O. castaneae this count is 12(1) for the female and 12(2) for the male. A maximum likelihood tree based on the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) showed that O. neocastaneae sp. nov. was clearly separated from O. castaneae and other related species. A key to all species of the genus Oligonychus known in Japan is given.

Panonychus from Georgia: survey, taxonomical status and redescription of P. hadzhibejliae (Reck, 1947) (Acari, Tetranychidae).

A survey of Panonychus species was undertaken across Georgia from 2005 to 2014 on various host plants, revealing three species: Panonychus citri (McGregor, 1916), Panonychus hadzhibejliae (Reck, 1947) and Panonychus ulmi (Koch, 1836). New hosts for P. ulmi and P. citri are recorded, Buxus sempervirens, Hedera colchica and Prunus laurocerasus for P. ulmi and Ficus carica for P. citri, whereas P. hadzhibejliae was only found on F. carica. The newly collected material also allowed us to investigate the taxonomical status of P. hadzhibejliae. The comparison of P. hadzhibejliae with the two closely related species sampled in the survey, P. ulmi and P. citri, and with data of P. caricae found in the literature, shows that P. hadzhibejliae is a valid species. It can be separated from the three other Panonychus species without ambiguity especially using the female dorsal setae length in combination with the ratio between the length of the female dorsal opisthosomal f2 and h1 setae and the ratio between the palptarsal terminal eupathidium su and the related solenidion ω. A redescription of P. hadzhibejliae is provided including the male and some morphological characters, measurements and drawings of the female that were omitted in the original description. A key to the world species of Panonychus is also proposed.

Two new species of Bryobia (Acarina, Prostigmata, Tetranychidae) from South France.

Two new species of Tetranychidae belonging to the genus Bryobia are reported from France. Bryobiabelliloci sp. n. and Bryobiagigas sp. n. collected on Genistacinerea and Bituminariabituminosa, respectively, are described and illustrated in the present work. Additional data to the original description of Bryobiacinereae are given and an identification key to known Bryobia species from France is also provided.