Eriophyoid mites (Acari: Prostigmata) from Brazil: an annotated checklist.

The superfamily Eriophyoidea constitute a group of phytophagous mites of particular economic and evolutionary interest due to their intimate association with host plants and their agricultural importance as harmful or beneficial organisms. Studies on the Eriophyoidea fauna in Brazil started in the early 1900s with botanical works on cecidias and were continued with researchers looking for and reporting on eriophyid mites causing damage to agricultural crops. Therefore, in this annotated checklist, we compile information from just over a century on eriophyid mites reported or described from Brazil. Its purpose is to facilitate plant protection strategies and guide future work on this important group of phytophagous mites. In addition to taxonomy, we present information on host plants and general aspects of cecidia attributed to eriophyoid mites but without genus/species identification. Compilation was based on: i) literature, including papers, books, theses and congress/symposium publications; ii) specimens deposited in mite collections in Brazil. On each species we present: i) suprageneric/generic classification, synonyms and previous genus/era assignments, including references on original and/or additional descriptions; ii) type host plant and other host(s) plant(s) found in the country; iii) host relationships and remarks on symptoms; iv) localities of occurrences at States/Federal District and municipal levels; and v) host plant status in Brazil as well as biomes where they occur or are cultivated. A total of 234 valid eriophyoid mite species are recorded: 196 Eriophyidae, 20 Diptilomiopidae and 18 Phytoptidae, distributed in 92 genera. Host plants comprised 233 species, belonging to 141 genera and 56 plant families. Four new reports of eriophyoid mites in Brazil are presented based on specimens deposited in reference collections. A new combination is presented for Propeaciota secundum (Flechtmann, Amrine Stasny) in the genus Khanthongella. In addition, data on observations and descriptions of 67 cecidias attributed to eriophyoid mites in five states and on 21 plant families are presented. Geographically, the distribution of species reports of eriophyoids around Brazil is highly uneven, with more than 64% of species (151 spp.) in the Southeast region, which surely reflects a lack of research elsewhere. Regarding host plant specificity, 77.7% are reported on only one host species, 88.9% on one host genus and 98.3% on one host family. Regarding host status 64.1% of species are exclusively associated with native host plants, 27% with naturalized or exotic cultivated host plants, and 6.4% from both native and naturalized or exotic host plants.

Emendations and updates to "Annotated catalogue of Stigmaeidae (Acari: Prostigmata), with a pictorial key to genera".

An update on "Annotated catalogue of Stigmaeidae (Acari: Prostigmata), with a pictorial key to genera" published in October 2016 is presented. The type species of the genus Ledermuelleriopsis Willmann, 1951 is changed from Ledermuelleriopsis triscutata to Ledermuelleriopsis plumosa Willmann, 1951. Newly published species and new information on old species are provided. Some other informamtion including an erratum is also added.

Tetranychidae database for Brazil: a website for distribution and information on spider mites (Acari).

We present a database regarding the distribution of spider mites (Acari, Tetranychidae) in Brazil. It is available open access on the internet and hosted by the Department of Entomology and Acarology, ESALQ-USP, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil, at www.lea.esalq.usp.br/tetranychidae. This database presents the first report of each species on a host plant for each State of Brazil and the corresponding reference. The home page of the site will allow searches under headings: Species, Host common name, Host species, Host Family, References and Locality.

Two new eriophyoid mite species (Trombidiformes: Eriophyoidea) from the cocoa tree, and a note on Shevtchenkella biseta (Nalepa).

Two new eriophyoid mite species are described from the cocoa tree, Theobroma cacao L. (Malvaceae) - the Diptilomiopidae Davisella trevisani n. sp. Rodrigues, Navia & Oliveira, from Brazil; and the Eriophyidae Tetra theobromae n. sp. Rodrigues, Navia & Oliveira, from Costa Rica. The new Davisella species presents an enlarged subcylindrical tubercle bearing pedipalp genual seta d, a novel structure for eriophyoid mites; its functional morphology was discussed. The new Tetra species is the third in this genus described from plants of the Malvaceae. A closer look at Shevtchenkella biseta (Nalepa), described from the Malvaceae Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L., showed its taxonomic assignment to the Phytoptidae, Sierraphytoptinae and raised a hypothesis on its synonymy.

Annotated catalogue of Stigmaeidae (Acari: Prostigmata), with a pictorial key to genera.

Stigmaeidae is one of the most studied mite families in Acarology, with the number of described species increasing by 44 percent in the last twenty years. To summarize the taxonomic and biological research in this family we compiled a catalogue with annotated information to nomenclature, synonymies, type localities, type depositories, host/habitat, feeding habits (if applicable) and distribution of 577 species in 34 genera (up to 31 July 2016). We also provide an overview of the main revisions and reviews. To facilitate future taxonomic research we present a pictorial key to genera. The following nomenclature changes are made: Raphignathus siculus var. lapponica Trägårdh, 1910 and Wooderia philippica Rimando & Corpuz-Raros, 1997 transferred to Eustigmaeus Berlese, Mullederia makilingae Rimando & Corpuz-Raros, 1996 transferred to Indostigmaeus Gupta & Ghosh.

Complementary description of Colomerus novahebridensis Keifer (Acari, Eriophyidae), with a discussion about the constitution of the genus and its economic importance, and a tentative key to Colomerus Newkirk & Keifer species.

Colomerus Newkirk & Keifer, 1971 is an eriophyid genus described by Newkirk and Keifer about 43 years ago, that contains species from all continents, except Antarctica. They live mostly on dicotyledonous plants. Colomerus novahebridensis Keifer, 1977 was described from coconut (Cocos nucifera L., Arecaceae) fruits from Vanuatu. A description of a Thai population of this species is given in this paper. A revised characterization of Colomerus and a dichotomous key for the separation of the species presently considered to belong to this genus are provided, and a consideration about the importance of Colomerus species is presented.

Plant mites of the Dominican Republic, with a description of a new species of Petrobia (Tetranychina) Wainstein, 1960 (Acari, Prostigmata, Tetranychidae) and a key to the species of this subgenus.

Fourteen mite species of plant-associated mites of the suborder Prostigmata are reported from the Dominican Republic. Four of these refer to new findings for the country, including Petrobia (Tetranychina) hispaniola n. sp. Sánchez & Flechtmann, described from specimens collected from leaves of Citrus sp. (Rutaceae) and Rosa sp. (Rosaceae). A key for the separation of the world species of Petrobia (Tetranychina) is presented. 

South American spider mites: new hosts and localities.

In order to contribute to taxonomic information on Tetranychid mites (Acari: Tetranychidae) in South America, surveys were conducted in Brazil (15 States and the Federal District) and Uruguay (one Department); 550 samples of 120 plant species were collected. Tetranychid mite infestations were confirmed in 204 samples, and 22 species belonging to seven genera of the Bryobiinae and Tetranychinae subfamilies were identified on 58 different host plants. Thirty-six new plant hosts were found in Brazil, South America, and worldwide for the following species: Eutetranychus banksi (McGregor); Mononychellus tanajoa (Bondar); Oligonychus anonae Paschoal; O. mangiferus (Rahman and Sapra); Tetranychus bastosi Tuttle, Baker and Sales; T. desertorum Banks, 1900 , T. evansi Baker and Pritchard; T. ludeni Zacher; T. mexicanus (McGregor); T. neocaledonicus André; and T. urticae Koch. Four new localities in Brazil were reported for Eotetranychus tremae De Leon; O. anonae; Panonychus ulmi (Koch); and T. gloveri Baker and Pritchard.

Acarofauna associada a frutos de coqueiro (Cocos nucifera L) de algumas localidades das Américas / Acarofauna associated with coconut fruits (Cocos nucifera L) from some localities in America

Neste trabalho foram identificados ácaros fitófagos e predadores associados a frutos de coqueiro de localidades do Brasil, Colômbia, Cuba, EUA, México e Venezuela. Foram encontradas três espécies de ácaros fitófagos (duas Eriophyidae, uma Tarsonemidae), quatro espécies de ácaros predadores (duas Ascidae, duas Phytoseiidae), e duas espécies de hábito alimentar pouco conhecido (uma Eupodidae, uma Tydeidae). Aceria guerreronis Keifer (Eriophyidae) foi encontrada nas amostras de Alagoas, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Sergipe e São Paulo, Brasil; e também de Cuba, EUA, México e Venezuela. Amrineus cocofolius Flechtmann (Eriophyidae) foi encontrada em amostras do Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo e Sergipe, Brasil; da Colômbia e do México. O tarsonemídeo Steneotarsonemus furcatus De Leon foi coletado em frutos provenientes de Alagoas, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro e Sergipe. Os sintomas observados em frutos infestados por esses ácaros fitófagos foram descritos. As espécies de Ascidae encontradas foram Proctolaelaps longipilis Chant e Proctolaelaps sp.; e as de Phytoseiidae foram Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) ornatus (Denmark & Muma) e Typhlodromalus manihoti (Moraes). Provavelmente essas espécies de ácaros predadores foram registradas, pela primeira vez, em frutos de coqueiro, no mundo.

Phytophagous and predatory mites associated with fruits of coconut from Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, USA and Venezuela were identified in this study. Three species of phytophagous mites (two Eriophyidae, one Tarsonemidae), four species of predatory mites (two Ascidae, two Phytoseiidae), and two species with unknown feeding habit (one Eupodidae, one Tydeidae) were found. Aceria guerreronis Keifer (Eriophyidae) were found in samples from Alagoas, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Sergipe and São Paulo, Brazil; and also from Cuba, Mexico, USA and Venezuela. Amrineus cocofolius Flechtmann (Eriophyidae) was found in samples from Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Sergipe, Brazil, from Colombia and from Mexico. The tarsonemid Steneotarsonemus furcatus De Leon was found on fruits from Alagoas, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Sergipe, Brazil. Symptoms observed on fruits infested by these phytophagous mites were described. The Ascidae species found were Proctolaelaps longipilis Chant and Proctolaelaps sp.; and the Phytoseiidae species were Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) ornatus (Denmark & Muma) and Typhlodromalus manihoti (Moraes). For our knowledge, these predator species were registered for the first time from coconut fruits around the world.

Ocorrência de Tetranychus ogmophallos Ferreira & Flechtmann (Acari: Tetranychidae) em Amendoim no Estado de São Paulo / Tetranychus ogmophallos Ferreira & Flechtmann (Acari: Tetranychidae) on Peanut in the State of São Paulo, Brazil

High mite infestations were observed during two consecutive years (1999 and 2000) in peanut fields of cultivar IAC-Caiapó, at the Adamantina Experiment Station of Instituto Agronômico de Campinas (IAC). The mites were identified as Tetranychus ogmophallos Ferreira & Flechtmann, and the symptoms consisted of an initial silver-like chlorosis on leaves, progressing to formation of a great ammount of web structures covering the plants. For a preliminary evaluation of the damage, two 1.000 m² plots were marked during the 1998/99 field growing. One was not treated with pesticide and the other was chemically sprayed for mite control. In both plots, pod harvesting was done at three intervals, and pod yield within each plot was estimated as the average of harvesting intervals. Comparison between treated and untreated plots indicated a 76,5 percent yield reduction due to mite infestation. T. ogmophallos has been previously known from Arachis pintoi, a wild peanut species, but no report of its occurrence on cultivated peanut (Arachis hipogaea) was known.

Altas infestações do ácaro Tetranychus ogmophallos Ferreira & Flechtmann foram observadas em plantios de amendoim cultivar IAC-Caiapó realizados na Estação Experimental de Adamantina, Estado de São Paulo, pertencente ao Instituto Agronômico de Campinas (IAC), durante dois anos agrícolas consecutivos (1998/99 e 2000). As infestações foram caracterizadas inicialmente pelo prateamento das folhas com posterior formação de grande quantidade de teia cobrindo as plantas. T. ogmophallos foi descrito a partir de exemplares coletados em Arachis pintoi e, até o momento, não havia sido registrado infestando amendoim cultivado. No plantio de 1998/99, duas áreas de 1000 m² foram demarcadas para a avaliação do dano causado pelo ácaro nas plantas de amendoim; em uma dessas áreas, o ácaro foi controlado quimicamente. Com base em três épocas distintas de colheita nas duas áreas, verificou-se redução de 76,5 por cento na média de produção de vagens.