Amblyseius largoensis and Typhlodromus ornatus (Acari: Phytoseiidae) are generalist predatory mites that naturally inhabit coconut plantations and other tropical crops. We assessed the suitability of two coconut pest mites, Raoiella indica (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) and Aceria guerreronis (Acari: Eriophyidae); the storage mite Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Acari: Acaridae); honey; and the pollens of castor bean, Ricinus communis, and cattail, Typha domingensis, and their mixture, as food sources for the mass rearing of A. largoensis and T. ornatus. Both pollens, supplied singly or mixed, generated the highest progeny production by both A. largoensis and T. ornatus, and were therefore selected for further life table studies. The pollen diets did not influence the survival of A. largoensis whereas there was higher survivorship of T. ornatus fed on the mixed pollen diet than on R. communis pollen alone. The maximum oviposition rate of both A. largoensis and T. ornatus occurred at the beginning of adulthood, irrespective of the pollen diet. Overall, the life table parameters indicated that the pollen of R. communis for A. largoensis, and R. communis with the mixed pollen diet for T. ornatus, were the best regarding population growth and reproduction. Collectively, our results indicate that A. largoensis and T. ornatus can survive and reproduce excellently when fed solely on R. communis or on the mixed pollen diet. In addition, these results point to the potential of pollen supplementation for the enhancement of the efficiency of these predators in conservation biological control.

Storage mites are serious pests of stored animal feeds and animals that consume mite-infested feed could reduce feed intake and eventually cause weight loss. To understand the mite species and infestation rates of them in animal feeds, we conducted a survey of mite infestations in samples of animal feeds from animal feed shops, feed mills, or chicken farms in eight provinces in northern Thailand. High mite infestation rates were observed in chicken feed (42.9%), followed by pig feed (26.7%). No mites were observed in fish and frog feeds. Mites were common in pelleted feeds (n = 96) or raw materials (n = 3), but was never observed in extruded feeds (n = 33). The mite species identified include three storage mites: Suidasia pontifica, Dermatophagoides farinae, and Aleuroglyphus chinensis, as well as the predatory mites Cheyletus malaccensis, Blattisocius keegani, and B. everti. Among them, A. chinensis and B. everti, are newly recorded in Thailand. Suidasia pontifica was dominant in chicken and pig feeds, and could be the major storage mite pest in northern Thailand. Figures and identification keys are provided.

This work deals with eight species of oribatid mites from different regions of Korea. Two new species, Cultroribula choiseongsiki sp. nov. and Cultroribula baeyeonjaei sp. nov. are proposed, and six species, Liochthonius hystricinus (Forsslund, 1942), Liochthonius simplex (Forsslund, 1942), Poecilochthonius italicus (Berlese, 1910), Nanhermannia dorsalis (Banks, 1896), Nanhermannia forsslundi Karppinen, 1958, and Damaeus gracilipes (Kulczynski, 1902) are newly reported to the fauna of Korea. Supplementary descriptions and illustrations of each species along with their distributional data are given.

Two new species, Flagellozetes (Cosmogalumna) maolanensis sp. nov. and F. (C.) longtanensis sp. nov. were discovered among the oribatid mite materials collected in China. Descriptions of two new species are presented based on specimens collected from Guizhou Maolan National Nature Reserve and Guangxi Longtan National Nature Reserve. F. (C.) maolanensis sp. nov. can be distinguishable from other species within the subgenus by the combination of the following character states: reticulate pattern in the middle part of notogaster represented by rambling neural ridges, the presence of regularly polygonal reticulation ornamentation on ventral shield, the junction of notogaster and pteromorphs forms a row of ridges, the surface of notogaster porose areas with short striae, and the surface of pteromorphs with sparsely and dispersedly protrusion. F. (C.) longtanensis sp. nov. differs from F. (C.) hrioyoshii (Nakamura & Fujikawa) by the smooth surface of prodorsum, the absence of reticulate pattern on pteromorphs, the absence of granules on notogaster porose areas, and the presence of polygonal network sculpture and granules posterior part of ventral plate. This study highlights the unexplored gaps that exist in the fauna of Chinese oribatid mites.

The subgenus Scheloribates (Topobates) (Oribatida, Scheloribatidae) is recorded in Mexico for the first time. Two new species of the subgenus—S. (T.) moskovchenkoi sp. nov. and S. (T.) paramoskovchenkoi sp. nov.—are described, based on adults collected from leaf litter from the karst pits in the secondary semi-evergreen tropical forest. Scheloribates (T.) moskovchenkoi is similar to S. (T.) tibetensis in the presence of heterotridactylous legs and long bothridial seta with elongate, lanceolate head having setiform apex, but it differs from the latter by the number of notogastral setae, the different length of notogastral setae, in having sparse small foveolae in dorsoanterior and dorsocentral parts of notogaster, the position of saccule Sa, the presence of tubercle-like process on the trochanter IV, and the absence of translamella. Scheloribates (T.) paramoskovchenkoi is similar to S. (T.) moskovchenkoi in the presence of bothridial seta with elongate, lanceolate head having setiform apex and 13 pairs of notogastral setae, but it differs from the latter in having monodactylous legs and five pairs of notogastral sacculi, strongly reduced pteromorph, the presence of tooth-like process on the trochanter IV, the presence of two longitudinal dorsodistal carinae and concavity between them on the leg tarsi I, II, and in the absence of foveolae on the notogaster and ventrobasal tooth on the leg tibiae I, II.

The samples were collected at weekly intervals between April and October from 2011 to 2014 on rosaceous plants and Quercus trees in Ankara, Turkey. Twelve spider mite species (Acari: Tetranychidae), Amphitetranychus viennensis (Zacher), Schizotetranychus ibericus Reck, Tetranychus urticae Koch, T. turkestani (Ugarov & Nikolskii), Eoteteranychus populi (Koch), E. pruni (Oudemans), E. coryli Reck, E. tiliarium (Hermann) Panonychus ulmi (Koch) (Tetranychinae), Bryobia rubrioculus (Scheuten), B. praetiosa Koch and B. sp. (Bryobiinae) were identified in Ankara. Schizotetranychus ibericus Reck, 1947 is a new record for Turkey. Tetranychus urticae and A. viennensis occurred in all the sampling localities, while S. ibericus was collected only on a Quercus sp. (Fagaceae). Tetranychus urticae Koch (Tetranychidae) was the most abundant and common species while some other species were represented by only two specimens such as Eotetranychus populi and E. tiliarum (Hermann). Apple harbored the highest number of spider mite species (9) while Prunus mahaleb and Quercus had only 2 and 1 species, respectively. The preferred hosts plants were Malus domestica (1007), Prunus domestica (749) and Prunus avium (479), while Prunus armeniaca (164), Prunus mahaleb (66) and Quercus sp. (17) were less preferred hosts. Collection data and geographical distribution of these species are provided. The checklist of the previous identified Tetranychinae species of Turkey is provided.

The present study determined the effects of different temperatures on the life history parameters and development of Typhlodromus athiasae Porath and Swirski (Acari: Phytoseiidae) for the first time. The study was conducted at 20, 25 and 30°C and the predators fed on Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) under laboratory conditions. Our results show that temperature significantly affected pre-adult and adult durations of T. athiasae. The adult longevity was calculated as 47.90, 22.88, 19.50 days for females, 26.11, 19.90, 20.46 days for males at 20, 25 and 30°C, respectively. The adult females of T. athiasae laid 15.80 (eggs/female), 17.20 (eggs/female) and 12.38 (eggs/female) eggs at the respective temperatures tested. The highest net reproductive rate (R₀= 8.90 offspring/individual) determined at 25°C but no significant difference was found among the other temperatures. The highest intrinsic rate of increase (r= 0.12 day^-1) was observed at 25°C and 30°C. Although the highest finite rate of increase (λ= 1.13 day^-1) was determined at 25°C, no significant difference was observed between this temperature and 30°C. Also, the shortest mean generation time (T=14.97 day) was obtained at 30°C whereas the longest mean generation time (T=28.39 day) was observed at 20°C. Our results revealed that 25°C was more suitable for mass production even if the female and male of T. athiasae survived and reproduced at all temperatures. Consequently, our present results and the data to be obtained in greenhouse and field conditions will reveal the potential of T. athiasae as a biological control agent of T. urticae.

Pollen grains can provide important nutrients for reproduction of different predators such as phytoseiid mites. Since mass rearing of phytoseiid predatory mites may be facilitated by feeding on alternative diets, the current study evaluated the utility of plant pollen as diet for mass rearing of the predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot, which is a commercially available biocontrol agent of phytophagous mites and insects. Demographic parameters of A. swirskii fed on pollens of bird-of-paradise (Caesalpinia gilliesii), thorn apple (Datura stramonium), and maize (Zea mays) were determined over 10 continuous generations. In addition, the pollens of common hibiscus (Hibiscus syriacus), and velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti) were assessed, but the predatory mite was unable to reach adulthood when fed on these pollens, and most of them died in nymphal stages. This study also evaluated the preying ability of A. swirskii on the natural prey Tetranychus urticae Koch before and after 10 generations. All experiments were conducted in the laboratory under controlled conditions of 25±1°C, 60±5% RH, and a photoperiod of 16:8 (L: D) h. According to the life table parameters, the pollen grains of bird-of-paradise, followed by maize and thorn apple, were shown to be promising diets for the long-term rearing of A. swirskii. Furthermore, the study found that A. swirskii reared on bird-of-paradise pollen had a high predation capability, with a mean of 677 prey per generation after 10 generations. Overall, it is concluded that while bird-of-paradise pollen was the most suitable alternative diet for the predatory mite, both maize and thorn apple pollen grains were also found to be promising diets for A. swirskii. These diets can be used for mass rearing of this predatory mite.