| Autor: |
Klimov PB; Lilly Hall of Life Sciences, Purdue University, G-225, 915 W State St, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.; X-Bio Institute, Tyumen State University, 25 Lenina St. Str., 625003 Tyumen, Russia., Kolesnikov VB; X-Bio Institute, Tyumen State University, 25 Lenina St. Str., 625003 Tyumen, Russia.; All-Russian Research Institute of Plant Protection, 396030 Voronezh, Russia., Demard EP; Citrus Research and Education Center, University of Florida, 700 Experiment Road Station, Lake Alfred, FL 33850, USA., Stinson CSA; Beneficial Insectary Inc., Redding, CA 96003, USA., Merckx J; Biobest Sustainable Crop Management, R&D, 2260 Westerlo, Belgium.; Biodiversity Inventory for Conservation NPO (BINCO), Walmersumstraat 44, 3380 Glabbeek, Belgium., Duarte MVA; Biobest Sustainable Crop Management, R&D, 2260 Westerlo, Belgium., Pedroso LGA; Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Av. 24-A, 1515, Rio Claro 13506-900, SP, Brazil., Khaustov AA; X-Bio Institute, Tyumen State University, 25 Lenina St. Str., 625003 Tyumen, Russia., Myers-Hansen JL; Lilly Hall of Life Sciences, Purdue University, G-225, 915 W State St, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA., Wäkers FL; Biobest Sustainable Crop Management, R&D, 2260 Westerlo, Belgium., Vangansbeke D; Biobest Sustainable Crop Management, R&D, 2260 Westerlo, Belgium.; Biodiversity Inventory for Conservation NPO (BINCO), Walmersumstraat 44, 3380 Glabbeek, Belgium. |
| Abstrakt: |
Mites of the genus Thyreophagus (Acari: Acaridae) are distributed worldwide; they inhabit concealed habitats and include several beneficial and economically important species. However, species identification is difficult because many species are poorly described or delimited and their phoretic stages are unknown or uncorrelated. Furthermore, Thyreophagus is interesting because it includes entirely asexual (parthenogenetic) species. However, among the 34 described species of Thyreophagus , the asexual status is confirmed through laboratory rearing for only two species. Here, we provide detailed descriptions of five new species from North America (four) and Europe (one) based on adults and phoretic heteromorphic deutonymphs. Four of these species were asexual, while one was sexual. For most of these mites, the asexual status was confirmed and phoretic deutonymphs were obtained through rearing in the lab. We show that asexual mites retain seemingly functional copulatory and sperm storage systems, indicating that these lineages have relatively short evolutionary lifespans. One North American species, Thyreophagus ojibwe , was found in association with the native American chestnut Castanea dentata , suggesting a possibility that this mite can be used to control chestnut blight in North America. We also provide a diagnostic key to females, males, and heteromorphic deutonymphs of the Thyreophagus species in the world. |
