NEW PHYTOSEIIDAE (ACARI: MESOSTIGMATA) FROM COSTA RICA, WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON OTHER SPECIES

This paper reports on a study of phytoseiids collected from the La Selva Biological Field Station, the ALAS (Arthropods of La Selva) Project, made available to us by the Canadian National Collection via Dr. E. E. Lindquist. This material includes two new species, Proprioseiopsis versus n. sp. and Transeius costarricensis n. sp., three new records for Central America, and additional information for nine species previously reported from La Selva.

Biology of predator mite Euseius alatus DeLeon (Acari: Phytoseiidae) under different temperatures

Biology of predator mite Euseius alatus DeLeon (Acari: Phytoseiidae) under different temperatures. Euseius alatus DeLeon (Acari: Phytoseiidae) is one of the most common predators of tropical fruit trees in Brazil, feeding of pollen, mites and other small arthropods. This predator presents wide distribution, occurring from Rio Grande do Sul to Ceara. This work had as objective to evaluate the effect of temperature oil the development and reproduction of E. alatus, in addition to determining their thermal requirements. The study was accomplished at temperatures of 18, 21, 24, 27, 30 and 33 degrees C; relative humidity of 70 +/- 5%; and 12-h photophase. At these temperatures, the egg-adult period lasted 14.0; 8.1; 5.5; 4.9; 3.8 and 3.1 days, respectively. The egg, larva, protonymph and deutonymph stages and the egg-adult period presented thermal thresholds of 12.52; 13.85; 14.86; 14.86 and 13.31 degrees C,and thermal constants of 22.32; 14.23; 16.23; 17.3 and 70.16 degrees days. The values for the parameters of the fertility life table, analyzed ill conjunction With the values of the different variables of development at different temperatures, showed that the temperature of 30 degrees C is the Most suitable for development and reproduction of E. alatus in the laboratory. Therefore, is it apparent that the best temperature conditions for the development of L alatus are found in the warmer regions of Brazil, such as those observed in northeastern Brazil.

Molecular detection and differentiation of Brazilian and African isolates of the entomopathogen Neozygites tanajoae (Entomophthorales: Neozygitaceae) with PCR using specific primers

Neozygites tanajoae is an entomopathogenic fungus which has been used for biocontrol of the cassava green mite (Mononychellus tanajoa, CGM) in Africa. Establishment and dispersal of Brazilian isolates which have been introduced into some African countries in recent years to improve CGM control was followed with specific PCR assays. Two primer pairs, NEOSSU_F/NEOSSU_R and 8DDC_F/8DDC_R, were used to differentiate isolates collected from several locations in Brazil and from three countries in Africa, Benin, Ghana and Tanzania. The first primer pair enabled the species-specific detection of Neozygites tanajoae, while the second differentiated the Brazilian isolates from those of other geographical origin. PCR assays were designed for detection of fungal DNA in the matrix of dead infested mites since N. tanajoae is difficult to isolate and culture on selective artificial media. Our results show that all isolates (Brazilian and African) that sporulated on mummified mites were amplified with the first primer pair confirming their Neozygites tanajoae identity. The second pair amplified DNA from all the Brazilian isolates, but did not amplify any DNA samples from the African isolates. None of the two primers showed amplification neither from any of the non-sporulating mite extracts nor from the dead uninfected mites used as negative controls. We confirmed that the two primer pairs tested are suitable for the detection and differential identification of N. tanajoae isolates from Brazil and Africa and that they are useful to monitor the establishment and spread of the Brazilian isolates of N. tanajoae introduced into Benin or into other African countries for improvement of CGM biocontrol.

A new species of Proctolaelaps Berlese (Acari : Ascidae) from northeastern Brazil

Proctolaelaps bulbosus n. sp. (Acari: Ascidae) is described from adult females and males of a laboratory colony derived from a collection from Cocos nucifera L. (Arecaceae) in northeastern Brazil. This species is distinguished from other Proctolaelaps species by the absence of the setae z3 and R3, knobbed seta Z5 and long spermatodactyl.

Rediscovery and redescription of Silvaseius Barretoae (Yoshida-Shaul and Chant) (Acari : Phytoseiidae)

New collection records of Silvaseius barretoae (Yoshida-Shaul and Chant) are reported and a redescription of females as well as the first description of male are provided based on specimens collected in Argentina and Brazil.

Two new species of Tetranychus Dufour (Acari : Tetranychidae) from Peru

Two new species of spider mites (Tetranychidae) found on Solanaceae in Peru are described: Tetranychus singularis n. sp. from Datura stramonium L. and T. amazonensis n. sp. from Solanum caricaefolium Rusby.

Distribution of Tetranychus evansi and its predator Phytoseiulus longipes (Acari : Tetranychidae, Phytoseiidae) in southern Brazil

Tetranychus evansi is an important pest of tomato in several countries. The predatory mite Phytoseiulus longipes has been found in association with it in Uruguaiana, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The objective of this study was to evaluate the distribution of those two species in Uruguaiana region. Bi-weekly samples of plant parts were taken between January 28 and April 30, 2007 in Uruguaiana and five neighboring counties. Tetranychus evansi was found in all counties, but P. longipes was only found in Uruguaiana, mainly in the urban area. It is conceivable that such restricted distribution of P. longipes is due to its recent introduction to the region. Alternatively, unfavorable winter conditions could prevent its persistence, except in protected places. Buildings and vegetation characteristics of the urban area of Uruguaiana could moderate strong winds, intense rainfall and low temperatures that commonly occur in the area.

Redescription of Lasioseius floridensis Berlese, 1916 (Acari: Mesostigmata: Blattisociidae), with notes on closely related species

A redescription of Lasioseius floridensis Berlese, 1916 is presented based on examination with descriptive notes of primary type material in the Berlese Collection and on a study of specimens collected from gerbera leaves in Mogi das Cruzes, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil representing all postembryonic stages. This species was originally described from Lake City, Florida, USA, where it was collected from moss; it is considered a senior synonym of Lasioseius arboreus Chant, 1963 (new synonymy) and Lasioseius fimetorum Karg, 1971 (new synonymy), based on examination of primary type material of the latter two species. Examination of other primary type material also indicated that Lasioseius sugawarai Ehara, 1964 is a senior synonym of Lasioseius tridentatus Baker, Delfinado & Abbatiello, 1976 (new synonymy). Placement of L. floridensis among other of the ca 150 species of Lasioseius, based on available keys, and the need for more detailed descriptions of species of genera such as Lasioseius, confirmed by examination of their primary type material, are discussed.

The effect of host plants on Tetranychus evansi, Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) and on their fungal pathogen Neozygites floridana (Entomophthorales: Neozygitaceae)

In a series of tritrophic-level interaction experiments, the effect of selected host plants of the spider mites, Tetranychus evansi and Tetranychus urticae, on Neozygites floridana was studied by evaluating the attachment of capilliconidia, presence of hyphal bodies in the infected mites, mortality from fungal infection, mummification and sporulation from fungus-killed mite cadavers. Host plants tested for T. evansi were tomato, cherry tomato, eggplant, nightshade, and pepper while host plants tested for T. urticae were strawberry, jack bean, cotton and Gerbera. Oviposition rate of the mites on each plant was determined to infer host plant suitability while host-switching determined antibiosis effect on fungal activity. T. evansi had a high oviposition on eggplant, tomato and nightshade but not on cherry tomato and pepper. T. urticae on jack bean resulted in a higher oviposition than on strawberry, cotton and Gerbera. Attachment of capilliconidia to the T. evansi body, presence of hyphal bodies in infected T. evansi and mortality from fungal infection were significantly higher on pepper, nightshade and tomato. The highest level of T. evansi mummification was observed on tomato. T. evansi cadavers from tomato and eggplant produced more primary conidia than those from cherry tomato, nightshade and pepper. Switching N. floridana infected T. evansi from one of five Solanaceous host plants to tomato had no prominent effect on N. floridana performance. For T. urticae, strawberry and jack bean provided the best N. floridana performance when considering all measured parameters. Strawberry also had the highest primary conidia production. This study shows that performance of N. floridana can vary with host plants and may be an important factor for the development of N. floridana epizootics. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New taxa in the Eriophyidae (Acari, Prostigmata) from forest trees in southern Brazil

Two new genera and five new species of Eriophyidae from forest trees in southern Brazil are described, namely: Juxtacolopodacus n. gen., Juxtacolopodacus phalakros n. sp. from Mollinedia clavigera Tul. (Monimiaceae); Procalacarus perporosus n. sp., from Randia armata (Sw.) (Rubiaceae); Scolotosus Flechtmann & Keifer, n. gen., Scolotosus centrolobii Flechtmann & Keifer, n. sp., from Centrolobium robustum Mart. (Leguminosae); Scolotosus hartfordi n. sp., from Centrolobium tomentosum Guill. (Leguminosae), and Metaculus tanythrix n. sp., from Dicksonia sellowiana Hook. (Dicksoniaceae).

Five new species of Tetranychidae (Acarina, Prostigmata) from south Tunisian oasis areas

In this paper we present the description of five new species of tetranychid mites collected in south Tunisian oasis areas. These are: Bryobia alveolata sp. nov., Aplonobia crispipilis sp. nov., Petrobia (Petrobia) carthagensis sp. nov., Petrobia (Petrobia) pseudotetranychina sp. nov. and Tetranychus (Tetranychus) atriplexi sp. nov. The notion of dorsal tubercles used to separate the sub-genera Tetranychina from Petrobia sensu stricto and Mesotetranychus among the genus Petrobia is also discussed.

Wolbachia neither induces nor suppresses transcripts encoding antimicrobial peptides

Wolbachia are intracellular maternally inherited microorganisms that are associated with reproductive abnormalities such as cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), feminization and parthenogenesis in the various arthropod species they infect. Surveys indicate that these bacteria infect more than 16% of all insect species as well as isopods, mites and nematodes, making Wolbachia one of the most ubiquitous parasites yet described. However, nothing is known about the interactions of this bacterium with the host's immune system. We studied the expression of inducible antimicrobial markers in the adults of two Wolbachia infected insect species, Drosophila simulans and Aedes albopictus. The lack of available immune markers in the mosquito species led us to clone part of the defensin gene from this species, which was found to be very similar to the other mosquito defensins cloned from Anopheles gambiae and Aedes aegypti. Comparisons of the expression pattern of the antibacterial markers between Wolbachia-infected and cured lines, and also between bacteria-challenged and unchallenged adults indicated that Wolbachia does not either constitutively induce or suppress the transcription of these antibacterial genes. In addition, no difference in the transcription of these genes was found between double and single Wolbachia-infected strains or between strains in which Wolbachia has different tissue tropisms.

Expressed sequenced tags and new genes from the cattle tick, Boophilus microplus

We used the expressed sequenced tags (ESTs) approach to study the genome of the cattle tick Boophilus microplus. One hundred and forty-two of our 234 unique ESTs were from genes not previously identified from ticks, mites or any other arachnids. The largest class of identified ESTs (29%) was from genes involved in transcription and translation. Ninety-one ESTs (39% of all ESTs) did not match any sequences in international databases; some of these may be specific to ticks. Thirteen percent of our ESTs were from ribosomal proteins and two ESTs were for genes implicated in resistance to pesticides. (C) 1998 Chapman & Hall Ltd.

Phylogeny of the hard ticks (Ixodidae) inferred from 18S rRNA indicates that the genus Aponomma is paraphyletic

We examined the phylogeny of ticks (Acari:Parasitiformes:Ixodida) and their closest known mite relatives (Acari:Parasitiformes:Mesostigmata and Holothyrida) using 18S rRNA sequences. In our analyses, we included sequences from 36 taxa. Sequences for 13 hard ticks (Family Ixodidae), 5 soft ticks (Family Argasidae), and 2 mesostigmatid mites were obtained from the GenBank database and we generated sequences for 15 hard ticks and 1 holothyrid mite. Ten of these tick species were endemic to Australia. Our analyses indicated that the suborder Holothyrida is more closely related to Ixodida than to Mesostigmata, the group used as outgroup in earlier molecular studies. This finding is consistent with Lehtinen's (1991) hypothesis that the Holothyrida rather than the Mesostigmata is the sister-group to the Ixodida. Within the hard ticks the genus Aponomma and thus the family Amblyomminae were paraphyletic. Taxonomic revision of these taxa is needed. The genus Amblyomma was paraphyletic without the inclusion of typical Aponomma species (Ap. latum and Ap. fimbriatum). There was a basal divergence between endemic Australian and other species in both the Metastriata and the Prostriata divisions of the hard ticks. (C) 1999 Academic Press.

Toxicity of biorational insecticides to Helicoverpa spp. (Lepidoptera : Noctuidae) and predators in cotton field

Field trials on upland cotton (Gossypium hirstum L.) during its reproductive phase were used to assess the toxicity of several biorational pesticides and chemicals to Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) and H. puntigera Wallengren, as well as major predators at Dalby, Queensland, Australia. Moderate rate-dependent control was obtained in plots treated with neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) seed extract-azadirachtin (Aza) at rates of 30, 60 and 90 g/ha. Plots treated with Talstar EC (bifenthrin) applications achieved the best results, followed by treatment with alternation of chemicals (methomyl, bifenthrin, thiodicarb and endosulfan) and biorational insecticides (neem oil, azadirachtin and Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki var. Berliner). Predators, including lady beetles, lacewings, spiders and predatory bugs, were insensitive to Aza, tooseendanin (Tsdn) and BT applications. In contrast, chemicals were very destructive of predators. All treatments provided some protection from infestation of H. armigera and H. puntigera. The effect of Aza on Helicoverpa spp. was reflected in a relatively higher yield of seed cotton harvested from Aza-treated plots compared with the control, but chemical control achieved significantly higher yields than any other treatment.