Three new species of eriophyoid mites in the subfamily Phyllocoptinae Nalepa from Vietnam and China are described and illustrated: Acaricalus cinnamomasp. nov. infesting Cinnamomum burmanni (Nees & T. Nees) Blume. (Lauraceae), Neoshevtchenkella maesasp. nov. infesting Maesa perlaria (Lour.) Merr. (Myrsinaceae) and Shevtchenkella meizhouicasp. nov. infesting Vitex negundo L. (Lamiaceae). All three new species are vagrant on the leaves of their host plant respectively causing no visible damage.

The family Winterschmidtiidae is subdivided into four subfamilies; representatives of two are associated with insects and those of other two commonly inhabit decaying materials, fungi, plant leaves, vertebrate nests and stored food. Species of this family are frequently collected during surveys of arboreal acarofauna in Brazil, but in most cases, they are identified up to the generic level. The present work reports winterschmidtiid species collected in agricultural environments in Brazil: a new species, Oulenziella longisetasp.nov., and four previously known species, Acalvolia squamata (Oudemans), Oulenzia arboricola (Oudemans), Oulenziella bakeri (Hughes) and Czenspinskia transversostriata (Oudemans). Among these, A. squamata, O. arboricola and O. bakeri are new records for Brazil.

The impact of temperature and light/dark cycle on morphological traits of Platytrombidium fasciatum was examined in larvae obtained from field-collected females. The eggs laid by 65 females at laboratory conditions were assigned to four experimental groups. Varied thermal conditions affected the values of nine out of 46 (nonparametric MANOVA) and 26 out of 37 (LDA) morphometric traits in larvae. As many as six quantitative traits differed significantly irrespective of the method (MANOVA, LDA) applied. The analysis of the metric traits within the dorsal sclerites revealed that the lower mean temperature over the period of egg incubation, translated into longer duration of development, was associated with an increase in distance between the bases of 3rd pair of non-sensillary setae on scutum at the decrease in distance between the bases of 2nd pair of nonsensillary setae as well as in distance between the level of sensilla and the posterior edge of the sclerite. In the case of 40 measurable traits in larvae of P. fasciatum, the variability going beyond the hitherto knowledge on the species was observed.

This paper reviews the Heterostigmata (Acari: Prostigmata) in Turkey, with an updated checklist of 41 species belonging to 7 families and 16 genera. Heterostigmatic mites Kerdabania variabilis Khaustov (Neopygmephoridae), Tarsonemus talpae Schaarschmidt (Tarsonemidae); T. bilobatus Suski and T. aequalis Livshits, Mitrofanov & Sharonov were identified as new records for mite fauna of Turkey. Tarsonemus smithi Ewing and T. waitei Banks have also been found during this study. The samples were collected during the vegetation periods from garlic growing areas and fruit orchards in Kastamonu and Ankara, Turkey, during the period 2012–2015. The plant samples were extracted by using Berlese funnel and the specimens were mounted in micro slides in Hoyer's medium. Collection data and geographical distribution of these species are provided. Besides, Heterostigmata species which were previously reported from Turkey are also presented here.

Proctophyllodes Robin (Proctophyllodidae: Proctophyllodinae) is a widely distributed feather mite genus, which most species show high level of specificity to their bird hosts. We describe two new species of this genus from passerines commonly found in urban environments in Brazil: Proctophyllodes molothrussp. nov. from the Shiny Cowbird Molothrus bonariensis (Gmelin) (Icteridae), and P. carmenmirandaesp. nov. from the Rufous-collared Sparrow Zonotrichia capensis (Statius Müller) (Passerellidae). The former is similar to P. egglestoni Spory and differs from it in having a unique shape of opisthosomal lobes in females; P. carmenmirandae is closer to P. tiaris Atyeo & Braasch and differs in having a relatively longer adeagus in males and setae h1 situated on soft tegument between hysteronotal and lobar shields in females.

A new species of Pergalumna (Oribatida, Galumnidae) is described from leaf litter of rain forest in the Espejillos environs near the Bolivian Ambor National Park. Pergalumna espejillosensissp. nov. is similar to Pergalumna nasicaPérez-Íñigo & Baggio, 1980 in the presence of protruding rostrum, three pairs of rounded/oval notogastral porose areas and minute interlamellar seta, and in the absence of dorsosejugal suture, but differs by the smaller body length, setiform bothridial seta and long lamellar seta, and the absence of a median pore. An identification key to known species/subspecies of the genus from the Neotropical region is presented.

Two new species of FloridotarsonemusAttiah, 1970 (Acari: Heterostigmatina: Tarsonemidae), F. kukri Karmakar & Mondal sp. nov. and F. kanthali Karmakar & Mondal sp. nov. are described based on the specimens collected from Rhododendron indicum (Ericaceae), Cinchona officinalis (Rubiaceae) and Artocarpus heterophyllus (Moraceae) in Central Himalayan biogeographic province located in Darjeeling and Kalimpong district and Nadia district in the new alluvial zone of West Bengal, India. This registers the first record of Floridotarsonemus from the Indo-Malyan biogeographic realm. A note on the generic diagnosis of Floridotarsonemus and keys to differentiate the species of world Floridotarsaonemus are provided.

In this paper, three new species of eriophyoid mites of the family Eriophyidae from South China are described and illustrated. They are: Stenacis cryptomerissp. nov. infesting Cryptomeria japonica (Thunb. Ex L.f.) D.Don (Cupressaceae), Tetra guizhouensissp. nov. infesting Caesalpinia sp. (Leguminosae), and Nothopoda schimaesp. nov. infesting Schima superba Gardner & Champ. (Theaceae). All of these three new species are vagrants on lower leaf surface and causing no apparent damages to their host plants.

A new species of Metagynella, M. pangoolisp. nov. is described based on female and male specimens collected from decaying baobab trees (Adansonia digitata) in Senegal. The new species differs from congeners by the sculptural pattern of the dorsal shield and the shape of the sternal shield. A list and a new key to the known Metagynella species are also presented.

The bulb mite, Rhizoglyphus robini, is a serious pest of garlic, onion and other crops. The mite is usually found in association with dangerous fungal pathogens such as Fusarium spp. Control of this pest has relied upon the use of synthetic acaricides but chemical control of the bulb mite is difficult because it is able to develop resistance quickly. Thus, alternative control methods, e.g. biological control, need to be developed and implemented. The aim of this study was to assess efficacy of selected strains of entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) against adult females of R. robini under laboratory conditions. New EPF strains were isolated from soil samples collected in onion and garlic fields in the Czech Republic and Israel using soil elution and cultivation on selective media. Fungal species were determined using macroscopic, microscopic and molecular markers. The efficacy against R. robini females was tested in 17 isolated and 3 reference strains of EPF. Results revealed high variability among species and strains. The highest efficacy against R. robini mites was found in strains of Metarhizium anisopliae isolated from soil samples collected in the Czech Republic which caused mortality up to 99.3%, and a Metarhizium indigoticum strain from Israel causing 98.3% mortality after four days of bioassay. Isaria fumosorosea strains did not caused mortality higher than 40%. The lowest virulence was found in Beauveria spp. strains causing mortality of mites between 5 and 25%. Median lethal time (LT₅₀) and median lethal concentration (LC₅₀) in the three most virulent strains ranged between 2 and 4 days and between 1.01×10⁴ and 2.36×10⁵ spores/ml, respectively. The concentration-response models indicated that the M. indigoticum strain is more lethal than M. anisopliae strains. The present study showed that some strains of entomopathogenic fungi, especially from the genus Metarhizium, could be perspective biocontrol agents against R. robini.

The tick Amblyomma parvum has a wide distribution in the Central and South America. Therefore, throughout its distribution range, populations of this tick are exposed to different abiotic factors (e.g., Temperature and humidity). Here, we assess the effect of five temperatures, 18°C, 21°C, 24°C, 27°C, 32°C and 80 ± 10% RH on non-parasitic phases of A. parvum under controlled conditions of laboratory. Our results show that temperature affects all parameters of the non-parasitic phases of A. parvum. Mean periods of premolt and molting of immatures, and mean periods of pre-oviposition, oviposition and incubation of females decreases as temperature increases from 18 °C to at 32 °C. Conversely, the molting success of larvae increased from 18 °C to 32 °C but the percentages were statistically non-significant under 21°C, 24°C and 27°C. The molting success of nymphs was higher than 95% under all temperatures. Mean percentages of egg mass and EPE increases as temperature increase from 18 °C to 27°C, then both decrease at 32 °C. The mean percentage of egg hatching was higher than 90% from 21 to 32 °C. The total non-parasitic phase of A. parvum was completed in an average of 223.4, 150.9, 114.7, 90.2 and 69.0 days, respectively, under temperatures of 18°C, 21°C, 24°C, 27°C and 32°C. The effect of five temperatures studied in this experiment suggest that populations of A.parvum can exhibit different biological and ecological behaviors throughout its distribution range, as expected to occur in ticks with wide range distribution.

Deformed wing virus is one of the most common viral infections in honeybee populations around the world. In this study, a total of 30 apiaries located in different geographical regions of Hamedan, Iran were analyzed for the presence of deformed wing virus on capped larvae and workers of the honeybee, Apis mellifera (Hym: Apidae), as well as the parasitic mite, Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae), using reverse-transcription PCR. Two target sequences within the putative VP1, VP4, and VP2 structural-protein genes and the RNA helicase enzyme gene, were selected for amplification and sequencing. According to the results, 36.6% of apiaries were found to be infected with deformed wing virus, including 8, 0, and 3 positive samples on capped larvae and workers, and Varroa mites, respectively. Four strains of the virus obtained from honeybees and mites were selected for analysis of genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships with other sequences deposited in GenBank. The results showed a high degree of similarity between the virus strains in honeybee and Varroa mite. The phylogenetic results highlight the higher suitability of non-structural in comparison with structural proteins for genetic diversity and phylogenetic studies of deformed wing virus strains.