Recent population outbreaks of Tetranychus urticae Koch (red form) (Acari: Tetranychidae) were observed in strawberry fields in southern Turkey. Growers frequently complained that acaricides becoming an inefficient means of controlling this polyphagous pest. Therefore, a laboratory based bioassay and biochemical tests were conducted to determine comparative acaricide resistance status of five fields and a lab population of T. urticae. Larval bioassays were conducted using etoxazole and spiromesifen, whereas adult bioassays were performed with abamectin and tebufenpyrad. Kinetic esterase and glutathione S-transferase (GST) enzyme activities were also determined using a microplate reader. When compared to the lab population, based on LC₅₀ values, the resistance rations of field populations were found between 2.39–7.86, 6.80–15.39, 4.61–9.73, and 5.51–12.47-fold for abamectin, etoxazole, spiromesifen and tebufenpyrad, respectively. Total esterase and GST activities of field populations were much higher than of the lab population. A 7.72–10.69 mOD/min/mg protein and a 5.92–7.56 mOD/min/mg protein, esterase and GST enzyme activities were determined for field populations, respectively. Whereas these enzyme activities were found to be 3.83 and 5.49 mOD/min/mg protein for the susceptible lab population, respectively. The higher detoxification enzyme activities indicate that these two enzymes play an important role in metabolic pathway of acaricides in different T. urticae populations.

Two new species of the genus Analges (Astigmata: Analgoidea) are described from two species of accentors (Passeriformes: Prunellidae): Analges himalayanus sp. nov. from the Altai Accentor P. himalayana (Blyth), and A. slovakiensis sp. nov. from the Alpine Accentor Prunella collaris (Scopoli). Both species are closely related to A. bidentatus Giebel, 1871 described from the Dunnock Prunella modularis (Linnaeus). We extended the standard morphological descriptions of feather mites by species delimitation analyses carried out on DNA barcode sequences.

Bio-ecological parameters of the two-spotted spider mite (TSSM), Tetranychus urticae Koch and its predators depend on the quality of its host plants. In this study, the life table parameters of TSSM and its main predator Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot during different generations (1^st, 5^th, and 10^th generations) were determined on the susceptible (‘Beth-Alpha’) and resistant (‘HED’) greenhouse cucumber cultivars. The results indicated that the longest total development time of TSSM was allocated to the first generation on the susceptible cultivar, but there was no significant difference among different generations on the resistant cultivar. The total development time of the 1^st and 10^th generations of P. persimilis on each of the susceptible and resistant cultivars had not significant difference. Total fecundity of TSSM was higher in the 10^th generation on both cultivars tested than that of the former generations. However, the total fecundity of the predator drastically reduced after long-term rearing (10 generations) on both cultivars. The intrinsic rate of increase (r) of the 1^st, 5^th, and 10^th generations of TSSM on the susceptible cultivar was 0.178, 0.238 and 0.319 day^-1, respectively, and 0.157, 0.166 and 0.168 day^-1 on the resistant cultivar, respectively which indicates the significantly negative effect of the resistant cultivar on this parameter. In P. persimilis, the value of the intrinsic rate of increase in the first and tenth generations on the susceptible cultivar was 0.275 and 0.267 day^-1, respectively, and on the resistant cultivar was 0.244 and 0.210 day^-1, respectively. By understanding these interactions in the long term, we will be able to develop suitable strategies for biological control of TSSM on cucumber.

Pest mites found in grain, flour, and feed warehouses and also on the shelves of business establishments are common in Brazil. This study aimed at describing the mite fauna associated with environmental factors and several production-line environments inside animal feed factories. Mites were collected from: package depositing (PD), rice bran milling machine (RB), corn conveyor belt (CB), soybean silo (SS), pigeon nests (PN), animal product elevator (AP), pellet cooler (PC), and from the roof of an animal feed factory (R). A total of 2401 mites were collected, belonging to 13 species in 12 families, along with Uropodina and the suborder Oribatida. Higher richness was observed for Cheyletidae, and the highest richness was observed in PN and SS. Dermatophagoides farinae was the most abundant species (883 specimens), followed by T. putrescentiae (654) and C. malaccensis (506). In PC, the place with the highest infestation, we observed 36% of total mite populations, followed by CB with 17.5%, and RB and SS, with 14% each. There was no significant correlation among mite infestation, temperature, and relative humidity (RH). The period with the highest abundance was between March and August. The most abundant species in March was D. farinae, and T. putrescentiae was the most abundant in August. From December to February, C. malaccensis was the most predominant species. Thus, this study showed the prevalence of two pest species (D. farinae and T. putrescentiae) in several production-line environments in an animal feed factory and the presence of a potential predator, C. malaccensis.

The genus CeuthothrombiumRobaux, Webb & Campbell, 1976 is redefined based on data of the original description and a new species from Jahrom, Iran. The discovery of a new species from Iran showed a variation between characters considered for the genus and some new features were considered as well. Also,Ceuthothrombium scolopendraesp. nov. (Acari: Trombidiformes: Neothrombiidae) is described and illustrated, as an ectoparasite of the centipede Scolopendra canidens Newport (Scolopendromorpha: Scolopendridae) from Jahrom, southern Iran.

A new species viz. Caligonella urhanisp. nov., collected from soil and litter under Astragalus sp. (Fabaceae), Bromus sp. (Poaceae), Juncus sp. (Juncaceae) Medicago sativa (Fabaceae), Pistacia lentiscus (Anacardiaceae),Quercus infectoria (Fagaceae), Robinia pseudoacacia (Fabaceae) Salvia sp. (Lamiaceae) and Verbascum sp. (Scrophulariaceae), is described and illustrated based on adult females and protonymphs. A key to known species of Caligonella is provided.

A new genus and two new species of the family Eriophyidae (Acari: Eriophyoidea) from Mountain Trusmadi, Malaysia are described and illustrated. They are Trusmadius acalypher gen. nov. and sp. nov. on Acalypha sp. (Euphorbiaceae) and Paraphytoptus lithocarpis sp. nov. on Lithocarpus uvariifolius (Hance) Rehder (Fagaceae). Both new species are vagrant on lower leaf surface. No damage to the host was observed.

Gaeolaelaps aculeifer (Canestrini) is a well-known generalist predator currently commercialized to control several edaphic organisms, including Diptera larvae and thrips pre-pupae and pupae. The recent detection of this species in the Bogotá plateau of Colombia raised the interest to investigate details about the biology of this new population and evaluate its potential as a biological control agent for use in that country against Frankliniellaoccidentalis Pergande (Thripidae), the western flower thrips. The objective of this study was to evaluate experimentally the biological characteristics of the Colombian population of G. aculeifer and its predation capacity on F. occidentalis, as well as the possibility to use a factitious prey for its mass production or as complementary food in predator field releases. The study was conducted with three diets: F. occidentalis (T), Aleuroglyphus ovatus (A), and A. ovatus + F. occidentalis (TA), in a randomized design experiment using G.aculeifer females. Predation rate was about 2.6 pre-pupae/pupae of F.occidentalis/female/day when only thrips was available as prey, reducing to 2.0 when thrips was combined with A.ovatus. Oviposition was the same when fed each of those prey and their combination (2.5–2.9 eggs/female/day). Some differences between diets were observed for duration of some periods of the life cycle, but no differences were observed for life table parameters. The greatest differences observed between this population and what has been reported for other populations of the same predator (evaluated when feeding other prey) refer to duration of deutonymphal period and R_o (respectively longer and higher in the former). It is concluded that the Colombian population is able to feed, develop, and reproduce on pre-pupae and pupae of F. occidentalis and that A. ovatus can be used for its small scale mass production and as a complementary diet in predator field releases.

Associations of scolytine bark beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) and histiostomatid mites (Acari: Histiostomatidae) are reviewed. Histiostomatids are associated with a total of 62 described species of bark beetles in 31 countries of the world, except for South America and Antarctica (262 non-redundant records). Non-accidental records include 21 mite species in the genus Histiostoma and 5 species in the Bonomoial Probonomoia generic complex. The biological role of histiostomatids associated with bark beetles is largely unknown and needs further investigation. Available observations suggest that histiostomatids living in bark beetle galleries may feed on different fungi, including those pathogenic to the tree host and/or may serve as food supplement for developing bark beetle larvae (e.g., the fungal genus Ophiostoma). However, based on their mouthpart morphology, instead of feeding on fungi directly, histiostomatids may reduce fungal population sizes by releasing fungicides produced by their opisthonotal glands. Both feeding and phoretic stages of the mites commonly vector considerable numbers of fungal spores or conidia, including those of phloem-infesting, blue stain fungi (e.g., Ophiostoma, Ceratocystis, and Alternaria). Here we describe all developmental stages of a new species of the genus Histiostoma, belonging to the piceae-species group that includes many mite species associated with bark beetles. The new species, Histiostoma shiramba sp. n., was found in the galleries of the Sakhalin-fir bark beetle, Polygraphus proximus, an invasive pest that is quickly spreading outside of its native range in the Eastern Palaearctic, causing large-scale destruction of fir forests. We emend the following names (nom. emend.) to agree in gender with the generic name Histiostoma (gender neuter): Histiostoma capillatum, H. conjunctum, H. hungaricum, H. indetonsum, H. irinum, H. longisetum, H. margaritatum, H. medium, H. ovale, H. pannonicum, H. serratum, H. sordidum, H. spinosum, H. sylvestre, H. varium, H. virginianum. The name Histiostoma scheucheri is emended to Histiostoma scheucherae.

A new species Paracarophenax alternatus Xu and Zhang sp. nov. is described and illustrated based on phoretic females. The mites were found attached to the adult of Monochamus alternatus Hope (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) collected from traps set in Minhou county, Fuzhou city, Fujian province, China. The new species is the eighth representative of the genus and also the first record of the Paracarophenax associated with the host family Cerambycidae. An updated the key to species of Paracarophenax is provided.

Wolbachia are endosymbiotic bacteria that commonly infect arthropods and cause reproductive manipulations in hosts. Artificial transfection is one of the best methods for the study of Wolbachia-induced reproductive manipulations and its application in production practice. However, the low success rate of artificial transfection laid burden for investigation. The success rate of artificial transfection of Wolbachia between closely related hosts is usually higher than distant hosts, but the mechanism of transfection is unknown. In our study, the wTtru strain (supergroup B) infecting the Arachnida Tetranychus truncatus was transfected into the Aedes albopictus cell line (native-infected with wAlB strain from supergroup B). The wTtru strain was quantified and localized in the cell line to observe dynamic changes after transfection. A phylogenetic analysis of the relationship between the wTtru strain and the wAlB strain showed that the wTtru (ST=278) strain belonged to supergroup B and was closely related to the mosquitoes native WolbachiawAlbB (ST=464), so we speculate that successful transfection was related to the Wolbachia strain, and furthermore, Wolbachia strain may be more important than host relationship. Our results provide a factual basis for studying artificial transfection of Wolbachia, and show that Wolbachia transfection between distant hosts can be achieved.