The mites that feed on citrus, which belong to the families Tetranychidae, Tenuipalpidae and Eriophyidae, along with a single species in the Tarsonemidae, are listed and ranked according to their injury. All major citrus pests, except the Eriophyidae, are generalists. Analogously, there are only generalists, but no specialists, among the natural enemies that are known, or postulated, to control acarine citrus pests. This suggests that neither the major pest mites nor their natural enemies have evolved on citrus, and that generalist predators thus have a better chance to control the pests. As the introduction of generalist natural enemies is currently restricted by environmental concerns, and as this practice has not led to improved control of the acarine pests of citrus, it is argued that better use should be made of the indigenous predators of citrus mites.

The life history and life table of Tetranychus truncatus Ehara onmulberry leaflets were studied under laboratory conditions at 20, 24, 28, 31 and 35°C. Mites completed their development and produced offspring within this temperature range. The development time from egg to adult varied from 6.30 to 14.89 days. The highest immature mortality was 39.88%at 20°C followed by 30.70%at 35°C. The threshold temperatures of egg, larva, protonymph, deutonymph, and a generation were 11.38, 9.91, 10.67, 12.51 and 11.57°C whereas the day-degree requirement at each stage was 62.52, 15.38, 11.36, 11.76 and 142.83 Do, respectively. The highest number of eggs laid by fertilized females was 65.6 eggs at 24°C, followed by 64.78 eggs at 31°C. Fertilized females lived up to 28.41 days at 20°C and only 9.63 days at 35°C. Unfertilized females survived relatively longer at 24°C and produced slightly more eggs at 24 and 28°C. The net reproductive rate (Ro) was the highest (37.39) at 24°C, followed by 37.00 at 31°C. The innate capacity for increase (r_m) and finite rate of increase (λ) reached maximal values (0.321 and 1.378) at 31°C, whereas minimal values (0.134 and 1.143) were at 20°C. The mean generation time was the shortest at 35°C and the shortest time for a population to double was 2.16 days at 31°C. The highest population trend index (49.49) was obtained at 24°C, followed by 48.58 at 31°C. The overall results suggested that T. truncatus could develop and reproduce within a wide range of temperatures. The range 24–31°C was the most suitable for the development, survival rate and reproduction of this mite.

The effect of five different constant temperatures on life history and life table parameters of the Texas citrus mite Eutetranychus banksi (McGregor) on sweet orange (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck) leaves was studied under controlled laboratory conditions. The intrinsic rates of natural increase were -0.0649, 0.1723, 0.1759, 0.1973, and -0.0711; net reproductive rates, 0.30, 8.25, 7.24, 9.21, and 0.44; mean generation times, 19.21, 12.79, 11.74, 11.52, and 11.64 days at 20, 25, 30, 32.5, and 35°C, respectively. In general, the durations of each immature instar as well as combined immature stages, declined with increasing temperature up to 32.5°C and then increased at 35°C. As regards the adult stages, the durations of preoviposition, oviposition, and postoviposition periods, as well as adult longevity, decreased with rising temperature in the range of 25–30°C. With the exception of the preoviposition period, temperature of 20°C had an opposite effect on the durations of the remaining adult phases.Mean total andmean daily fecundities generally but irregularly declined with ascending temperatures.Mean total developmental times declined curvilinearly with rising temperature; however, the rate of development had a positive curvilinear relationship with increasing temperatures. Threshold temperature of development (°C) and thermal constants (degree-days) for egg, larva, protonymph, deutonymph, combined immature stages, preoviposition, oviposition, postoviposition, and adult longevity were: 5.82, 127.66; 3.29, 14.08; 4.33, 41.91; 3.69, 53.28; 4.08, 279.02; 5.35, 34.39; 3.06, 86.78; 3.75, 28.14; and 2.89; 139.52, respectively. From the data it was calculated that there are 22–23 annual generations of the Texas citrus mite in Tamaulipas, Mexico. Temperatures in the range of 28 to 31°C constitute the optimal range for development of this mite species.

Damage caused by citrus rust mite (CRM), Phyllocoptruta oleivora (Ashmead), is usually negligible in minimally to unsprayed isolated groves located in the central coastal plain of Israel. Assuming that resident natural enemies were responsible for this situation, we monitored the pest's potential predators in five unsprayed citrus plots, and concurrently determined their feeding habits in the laboratory. In the field Iphiseius degenerans (Berlese) and Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot were the main predators found, the former being dominant during the critical winter and spring months, the period of low pest populations. In the laboratory, when solely CRM was offered, the decline in pest numbers was similar in leaf arenas containing either phytoseiid or the stigmaeid Agistemus cyprius Gonzalez. Only I. degenerans, however, seemed to kill fewer CRM in the presence of pollen. While the cessation of pesticide applications during two years was insufficient for reducing CRM populations, observations suggest that a three year break from broad spectrum pesticides would be the turning point for the reestablishment of I. degenerans, the postulated more important predator. Our field and laboratory data suggest that a complex of indigenous, generalist predators could be responsible for the control of CRM in isolated, unsprayed citrus groves on the central coastal plain of Israel.

The adults of Allothrombium pulvinum Ewing (Acari: Trombidiidae) have a wide range of prey. Herein we review the prey range of these adults and report eggs of Planococcus citri (Risso) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) and Pulvinaria aurantii Cockerell (Hemiptera: Coccidae) as new prey for adults of this mite in Northen Iran. We examined the preference of A. pulvinum for eggs of P. citri and P. aurantii in no-choice and two-choice tests. The experiments were conducted on sour orange (Citrus aurantium L.) leaf discs over a 24h period at 26±1°C, 755% RH and a 12L:12D photoperiod. The predatory mite preferred P. citri eggs over P. aurantii eggs (P<0.05), and the mean number of eggs consumed by adults of A. pulvinum in the two-choice test was higher than that in the no-choice test. The potential of A. pulvinum as a biocontrol agent against these two important citrus pests from that region is discussed.

Hydrachnidia water mites were examined in eight streams with similar chemistry from two sub-catchments that did not differ with respect to precipitation predictability (P>0.05). This study describes the structure of this taxonomic segment of the invertebrate community as species diversity, relative abundance, and composition. Twenty-two water mite species were found in this study. Following rarefaction to sub-samples of 170 individuals, expected richness for these eight subtropical streams was lower (E<16) than found for a tropical stream (E=23). Species composition and the log-normal distribution of species were similar in the two subcatchments. However, richness and diversity show significant differences between the two sub-catchments (P<0.05). The results suggest that similar seasonal rainfall pattern (contingency>65%) does not guarantee similar patterns of diversity and richness in neighboring sub-catchments.

This laboratory study examines the life history of Amblyseius cucumeris feeding on Aponychus corpuzae under four constant temperatures. The females of Amblyseius cucumeris required 20.0±0.5 days to complete its development from the egg to adult at 15±1°C, but only 7.7±0.3 days at 30±1°C. The developmental duration of each stage of A. cucumeris decreased with increasing temperature from 15°C to 30°C. The average oviposition period was 22.2±1.6 days, and the fecundity was 28.9±1.9 eggs. The female longevity (egg to death) was 40.6±0.7 days. Latoratory studies of predator : prey numerical responses revealed that at the ratios between 3 : 30 and 9 : 30, predators quickly brought A. corpuzae populations under control and the prey densities began to decrease from the 4th days after predator introduction. The present study shows that A. cucumeris can develop, survive and increase its population when feeding on A. corpuzae and has good potential as a biological control agent of A. corpuzae in moso bamboo forests in Fujian, China.

The New Zealand mite fauna comprised over 1,259 species (including 49 unnamed) in over 540 genera belonging to over 180 families of 6 orders by the end of October 2000, with 596 species (29 unnamed) in Prostigmata, 93 species (4 unnamed) in the Astigmata, 384 species (4 unnamed) in the Oribatida, 1 species in the Holothyrida, 15 species in the Ixodida, and 170 (14 unnamed) species in the Mesostigmata. Most of these species were described in the last four decades and by a few productive authors. The New Zealand mite fauna includes many unique species: 82% of oribatid mites are endemic, and only one water mite species out of over 140 is also found outside New Zealand. The New Zealand fauna of Holothyrida appears to be rich but virtually unstudied. Most families of New Zealand Mesostigmata, Prostigmata, and Astigmata await systematic study and some 90% of New Zealand mite species are waiting to be described.

Two species of Amblyomma Koch, 1844 occur in Chile: A. parvitarsum Neumann, 1901 and A. tigrinum Koch, 1844. Despite published reports of A. americanum (L., 1758), A. maculatum Koch, 1844 and A. varium var. albidaNeumann, 1899 fromChile, these three taxa do not occur there. Amblyomma inflatum was described from Chile, but this species is a nomen dubium. There are Chilean records for the terrestrial tortoise tick A. argentinae Neumann, 1904, but this species is thought to be exotic because no natural populations of terrestrial tortoises exist in Chile. Herein we present new records of A. argentinae from the terrestrial tortoise Chelonoides chilensis (Gray, 1870), illegally introduced from Argentina, and of A. tigrinum Koch, 1844 from the fox Pseudalopex griseus (Gray, 1837) in Chile's Region V.

The brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille 1806),was collected on dogs at the following localities in the province of Chubut, Argentina: Lago Puelo (42°04´S 71°38´W) and Puerto Madryn (42°46´S 65°02´W) during March 2001, and Sarmiento (45°35´S 69°04´W) during December 2000. These three localities represent contrasting environments, and the collections of R. sanguineus are the most southerly that have been reported to date. Rhipicephalus sanguineus is capable of completing its life cycle indoors, which may facilitate an extension of its range southward in South America. Amblyomma tigrinum Koch, 1844, a tick species adapted to different environmental conditions, was found on dogs in Puerto Madryn, but earlier collections of specimens that were probably this species (but that were identified as Amblyomma maculatum Koch 1844) have beenmade farther south.

A nymph of Amblyomma triste Koch, 1844 was found on a bat Myotis albescens (E. Geoffroy 1806) (Vespertilionidae), captured in Cerro Pan de Azúcar (34°47´S 55°13´W), Departamento Maldonado, Uruguay. A retrospective search of ticks from bats deposited in the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Montevideo, Uruguay, yielded seven larvae of Ornithodoros mimon Kohls, Clifford & Jones, 1969, from Eptesicus furinalis (d´Orbigny 1847) (Vespertilionidae), captured in Departamento Cerro Largo; six larvae were collected at Estancia La Formosa, (31°51´S 54°12´W), north to the locality of Aceguá, and one larva was collected at Arroyo Sarandí (32°29´S 53°41´W). This is the first record of A. triste from Chiroptera, but it is doubtful that bats are important in the life cycle of this tick species. The present records of O. mimon are the first since the description of this species from larvae collected on Bolivian and Uruguayan bats more than 30 years ago.

The mite that attacks Tunisian honeybees (Apis mellifera intermissa L.), previously known as Varroa jacobsoni Oudemans 1904 (Acari: Varroidae), is identified as Varroa destructor Anderson & Trueman 2000, by a morphological study of many females collected throughout the country. This is the species present in Europe, Middle East, South Africa, Asia, North and South America and in New Zealand.

Neocunaxoides ovatus sp. nov. is described and illustrated. It was collected from moss in Zhaoan County, Fujian Province. A key to Chinese species of the genus is presented.

The poorly known family Barbutiidae is one of the most mysterious groups in the Prostigmata. We review the family at the world level, synonymize the genus Namibarbutia with Molothrognathus of the family Caligonellidae, describe the first Australian representatives of the family, Barbutia australia sp. nov. and B. longinqua sp. nov., provide diagnostic characters, habitats and distributions for each of the four known species, and give a key to all species.

Eustigmaeus is one of the largest genera of the Stigmaeidae and contains more than eighty species. Two new species, Eustigmaeus erciyesiensis, ex moss, from Erciyes Mountain (2230m) and Eustigmaeus sculptus, ex soil and litter under different plants, are described from Erzurum, Elazig, Bingöl, Kirikkale and Gümüshane, Turkey. Another species, E. ioanninensis Kapaxidi & Papadoulis, originally found in Greece, is recorded for the Turkish fauna and re-described. A key to the species known from Turkey is provided.

Ledermuelleriopsis giresuniensis sp. nov. is described and illustrated from moss in Turkey. It is unique in lacking the third pair of ventral setae.

Tetranychid mites previously recorded in Malaysia consist of eight genera with 21 species. This paper records a genus new to Malaysia and three new species (Schizotetranychus hidayahae Yusof & Zhang sp. nov., Tetranychus arifi Yusof & Zhang sp. nov. and Tetranychus ismaili Yusof & Zhang sp. nov.) to the tetranychid fauna ofMalaysia. New hosts and localities of many other species are also recorded. Keys to genera and species of tetranychid mites of Malaysia are provided.

Leptus singhi sp. nov. (Acari: Erythraeidae) is described and illustrated from larva off host (host not known) on mulberry from Varanasi, India.

The sand-mite genus Xinjiangsha Wen et Shao, 1984 is closely related to the genera Neotrombicula, Miyatrombicula and Aboriginesia. The genus Xinjiangsha is characterized by a pair of scuto-ocular setae inserted in between the pentagonal scutum and ocular platelets, second row of the sternal setae being four, coxa III with two setae and the lateral margins and PL angles of scutum finely pleated. The genus is revised to include three species, X. scutocularis, X. armata comb. n., and X. tokobajevi comb. n., the last two of which are transferred from the genus Aboriginesia.