Eriophyoid mites (Acari: Prostigmata: Eriophyidae) associated with Compositae in Iran.

Five species of eriophyoid mites were identified during surveys of mite fauna associated with plant species of the family Compositae from Southwest of East Azerbaijan province during 2010 and 2011. Two of them, Aceria virgatae n. sp. from Centaurea virgata Lam. and Aceria xeranthenzis n. sp. from Xeranthemumn squarrosum Boiss., were found to be new to science. No damage symptoms were observed on their host plants. Aceria xeranthemis n. sp. is the first eriophyoid collected from the plant genus Xeranthenun. Aculops centaureae (Farkas, 1960) from Centaurea albonitens Turrill and Aceria cichorii Petanovic et al. 2000 from Cichorium intybus L. are new records for Iranian mite fauna. The deutogyne female of Aceria anthocoptes (Nalepa) was recorded for the first time in Iran, too. A key to the species collected on Compositae in Iran is given.

Three New Eriophyid Mite Species from China (Acari: Eriophyidae).

Eriophyid mites (Eriophyidae) are strictly phytophagous and are concentrated in Europe, Eastern Asia, Southeast Asia, Western and Eastern North America, Southern India, and New Zealand. South and southwest China are hot spots for eriophyid mite species diversity and endemism. In this study, we describe two new species, Scolotosus ehretussp. nov. on Ehretia acuminata (Boraginaceae) and Neotegonotus ulmchangussp. nov. on Ulmus changii (Ulmaceae), from south and southwest China (the Oriental Region), and one new eriophyid mite, Leipothrix ventricosissp. nov. on Hosta ventricosa (Asparagaceae), from northeast China (the Palearctic Region). All three new eriophyid mite species are distributed in the temperate region of China. We further provided mitochondrial gene (cox1, 12S rRNA) and nuclear gene (18S rRNA, 28S rRNA) sequences for three new species.

Field and Laboratory Observations on the Biology of Aceria angustifoliae with Emphasis on Emergence of Overwintering Mites.

Data on the life strategy of A. angustifoliae (population fluctuation in buds and on leaves, emergence and migration to the overwintering sites), as well as its temperature-dependent emergence from overwintering sites at constant temperatures, were determined. The eriophyid mite overwintered into buds and the density of active mites inside them from winter 2017 to spring 2018 was higher than that in winter 2018-spring 2019. In the second half of March 2018 and in winter 2018-spring 2019, the mite density inside the buds decreased gradually with a peak of emergence occurring at the beginning of plant blossoming. Population density on leaves increased in summer, reaching a higher and later peak in 2018, and gradually decreased in autumn with mites migrating to overwintering sites. A lower developmental threshold of 4.5 °C was calculated. About half of the mite population was estimated to emerge from the overwintering sites at an accumulation of degree days ranging, on average, between 85.5 (at 20 °C) and 104.4 (at 10 °C) degree days above the assessed threshold.

Eriophyoid mites (Acari: Trombidiformes: Eriophyoidea) of Rosales trees in Iran: two new species and three new records.

This paper describes two new species of Eriophyoidea associated with trees belonging to the order Rosales in the south-western portion of East Azerbaijan province, Iran, collected during a survey in 2011: Aceria lobolinguae n. sp. on Elaeagnus angustifolia L. (Elaeagnaceae) and Rhinophytoptus nemalobos n. sp. on Prunus domestica L. (Rosaceae). Additionally, Phyllocoptes abaenus Keifer on Prunus armeniaca L. (Rosaceae), Aculus fockeui (Nalepa & Trouessart) on Prunus amygdalus Stokes and Malus domestica Borkh. (Rosaceae), and Aceria mori (Keifer) on Morus alba L. (Moraceae) were collected and are new records for the mite fauna of Iran. New locality records and host plant data are provided for Eriophyes similis (Nalepa), Eriophyes pyri (Pagenstecher) and Calepitrimerus baileyi (Keifer) which are eriophyoid species previously known from Iran. 

Three new species from the subfamily Phyllocoptinae (Acari, Trombidiformes, Eriophyidae) in Iran.

Three new eriophyid species (Phyllocoptinae), Shevtchenkella denticulata sp. n., Notallus pestehae sp. n. and Echinacrus ruthenicus sp. n., were described from Eryngium thyrsoideum Boiss. (Apiaceae), Pistacia vera L. (Anacardiaceae) and Lycium ruthenicum Murray (Solanaceae), respectively. All the three new species were collected from southwest of the East Azerbaijan province, Iran in 2011. It is the first record of an eriophyoid mite collected from E. thyrsoideum and L. ruthenicum and the first record of Notallus from Anacardiaceae plant family.