Teratological anomalies are congenital abnormalities manifested in the body structure of an organism because of developmental aberrations. These congenital abnormalities, also known as teratological forms, are rare in ticks (Ixodida) and include cases of asymmetries, atrophies, gynandromorphs, and schizomelies. Such teratological anomalies are underreported in Asia, as evidenced by the relatively few published works on this subject. Here, we describe five cases of teratological anomalies in the ixodid ticks Amblyomma cordiferum Neumann, Amblyomma helvolum Koch, and Dermacentor taiwanensis Sugimoto from Taiwan and the Philippines. These are the first records of teratologies in D. taiwanensis and A. cordiferum and only the second report for A. helvolum. Additionally, these are the first published accounts of teratological anomalies in ixodid species from Taiwan and the Philippines.

With a brief review on taxonomic studies of Chinese water mites since 2010, this paper gives a checklist of the 381 species in 53 genera, 25 subfamilies, 23 families and 7 superfamilies, recorded from China. 25 of these (6.56%) are Palaearctic-Oriental, 85 (22.31%) Palaearctic, 271 (71.13%) Oriental in their distributions, and 290 (76.12%) are known at present only from China. The information on distribution within China is given for each species. Arrenurus (Arrenurus) bilobatus Jin & Li, 1996 is replaced with Arrenurus (Arrenurus) leishanus nomen novum, and Arrenurus (Micruracarus) bipetiolatus Jin & Wiles, 1996 with Arrenurus (Micruracarus) yibinus nomen novum.

Amblyseius orientalis Ehara (Acari: Phytoseiidae) is one local predatory mite in China that has high potential for controlling Polyphagotarsonemus latus, a globally important pest to many vegetables and crops. To further evaluate the control potential of A. orientalis on different host plants against P. latus, we selected bean, cucumber, and pepper as host plants to feed P. latus, and then to feed A. orientalis. It was found when the prey P. latus fed on cucumber leaves, development of A. orientalis was the slowest, with the lowest egg production and overall poor biological performance. When A. orientalis was fed with prey hosted on cucumber and the other two plants, there were 119 differentially expressed organic compounds. The differentially metabolites were significantly enriched in the pentose phosphate pathway and carbon metabolism pathway. Further transcriptomic analysis of A. orientalis revealed 36 differentially expressed genes. Among these genes, 20 were annotated in 17 pathways in KEGG, with significant enrichment in hippo signaling pathway-fly and polysaccharide degradation pathways detected. These results indicate that the development and reproduction of A. orientalis are significantly poorer when feeding on P. latus, leading to a marked decline in amino acids, sugars, lipids, and organic compounds in A. orientalis. Additionally, there are 36 genes with consistently different expression patterns in A. orientalis when comparing cucumbers to the other two host plants. This study is an initial attempt to unravel the biological mechanisms of how nutritional substances might affect biology of natural enemies through the food chain.

Three new species of the subgenus Pergalumna (Pergalumna)—P. (P.) chamaensis sp. nov., P. (P.) henriensis sp. nov. and P. (P.) parabifissurata sp. nov.—are described, based on adults collected from northern, northwestern and western Venezuela. Pergalumna (P.) chamaensis differs from its related species P. (P.) andicola and P. (P.) anellata by the morphology of the rostrum and the length of the lamellar seta. Pergalumna (P.) henriensis differs from its related species P. (P.) hypergranulosa and P. (P.) obsidiana by the larger body size, the morphology of the rostral region, and the body sculpturing. Pergalumna (P.) parabifissurata differs from the related species P. (P.) bifissurata by the morphology of the rostral region and the size of the notogastral porose areas. An identification key to the known species of Pergalumna from the Neotropical region is presented.

Here, we describe Euroglyphus perico sp. nov. from a nest of a mammal, probably Peromyscus sp. (Rodentia: Cricetidae), from Durango, Mexico. As this new species combines features of the genera Euroglyphus and Gymnoglyphus, Gymnoglyphus is proposed as a junior subjective synonym of Euroglyphus. An updated diagnosis of the genus Euroglyphus and a key to species of the World are provided.

The initial phase in optimizing the efficacy of multiple predators in biocontrol programs involves elucidating their reactions in the presence of heterospecific competitors. Predators sharing the same trophic level may interfere with one another through competition for food resources and engage in internal predation dynamics. This study explored the compatibility of two predatory mite species, Phytoseiulus persimilis, and Neoseiulus californicus, as biocontrol agents targeting Tetranychus urticae. Plants with prey and those with prey plus heterospecifics were used to assess the preference of adult females of the predatory mite competitors. Our results indicated no significant preference by either predatory mite species for plants with spider mites alone or alongside heterospecifics. Additionally, the fecundity rates of both species remained unaffected by the presence of heterospecifics. Notably, N. californicus strongly preferred aggregating eggs on the side with spider mite webs, contrasting with the more random distribution of P. persimilis eggs, although the distribution of eggs on leaf discs was altered in the presence of higher densities of heterospecifics. The total number of eggs of each predator species remained unaffected by the presence of heterospecifics. While our findings suggest compatibility between P. persimilis and N. californicus, which could enhance their combined use in pest management, further field studies are necessary to validate this potential under diverse environmental conditions and pest densities.

The genus Aegyptobia is recorded from South America for the first time, with the description of a new species collected from the branches of a native forest tree, Neltuma piurensis (Fabaceae), from Department of Piura in north-western Peru. The species A. pennatulae Baker & Tuttle was also collected from the same host, and is redescribed based on the types and new material. Observations during summer and autumn revealed A. pennatulae as the predominant species, and that N. piurensis is likely an accidental host for A. peruensis sp. nov.

This study aimed to evaluate the predation potential of Stratiolaelaps scimitus feeding on different stages of Dermanyssus gallinae (egg, immature and adult), under laboratory conditions. Stratiolaelaps scimitus showed a high survival rate, demonstrting that D. gallinae serves as adequate food for its development. It was observed that S. scimitus presented a fecundity rate of 11.70±1.20 eggs/female in an average period of 31.2±3.90 days, with the offspring demonstrating egg viability of 97.37%. Prepre-oviposition was 8.59±0.61 days, oviposition 31.17±3.86 days and post-oviposition 8.59±0.61 days. In this study, S. scimitus increased the net reproduction rate (Ro) about 8.53 times every 37.27 days (T=37.27.), corresponding to a daily population growth of 1.04 (λ = 01.04), and a production of 58 females/female/day (rm=58). The population doubling time (DT) was 11.89 days. Stratiolaelaps scimitus in this study developed and reproduced by feeding exclusively on D. gallinae. This predator is more efficient or prefers the immature phase of D. gallinae, followed by the adult and, to a lesser extent, the egg. Eggs may not provide the necessary nutrition for the predator, and adults, being nearly twice the size of the predator, may not be as easy to capture. Stratiolaelaps scimitus demonstrated to be able to control D. gallinae.

This work deals with four species of oribatid mites of the family Brachychthoniidae Thor, 1934 from Korea. A new species, Sellnickochthonius gotjawaliensis sp. nov. is proposed, and three known species, Liochthonius leptaleus Moritz, 1976, Liochthonius muscorum Forsslund, 1964, and Sellnickochthonius cricoides (Weis-Fogh, 1948) are newly reported to the fauna of Korea. Diagnostic characterization and illustration of each species along with their habitat ecology and distributional data are given. A diagnostic key to adults of all species of Brachychthoniidae known from Korea is presented.