Sierraphytoptus setiger ( Nalepa, 1894 )

Chetverikov, Philipp E. & Sukhareva, Sogdiana I., 2009, A revision of the genus Sierraphytoptus Keifer 1939 (Eriophyoidea, Phytoptidae), Zootaxa 2309, pp. 30-42 : 38-39

Sierraphytoptus setiger ( Nalepa, 1894) ,

fig. 3

Phyllocoptes setiger Nalepa, 1894:311 , fig. 3,4

Sierraphytoptus setiger Farkas, 1965:8 , fig.4;

Fragariocoptes setiger Amrine et al., 2003:17 , fig.17

Protogyne female (n=10). Body elongated, whitish or pallid pink, 226 (185–247), 67 (63–70) wide, 68 (62– 72) thick. Prodorsal shield with two wavy admedian lines. Median line missing or indistinct. Three short lines forming trident fork-like figure in posterior part of shield ( Fig. 3 A D). Prodorsal shield 38 (36–40), 43 (41– 46) wide, frontal lobe minute (not more than 1 μm). Setae ve 9 (7–9), their tubercles 25 (24–26) apart, situated in a small hollow immediately under the antero-lateral shield margin; scapular setae sc 5 (4–6), directed upward and centrally, their tubercles 19 (15–20) apart. Gnathosoma 19 (18–21), directed downward. Dorsal pedipalp genual setae d simple.

Leg I 32 (31–33), tibia 6 (5–6), l' 4 (3–5), tarsus 6 (5–7), ω 11 (10–11), without knob, empodium simple, 4-rayed; leg II 29 (29–31), tibia 5 (4–5), l' absent, tarsus 6 (5–6), ω 10 (9–10), without knob, empodium simple, 4-rayed ( Fig. 3 L1, L2, em). Setae bv present. Sternal line 12 (11–13), bifurcated anteriorly. Coxae with numerous thin short lines. Rounded plate with three longitudinal lines situated before coxae I ( Fig. 3 CG). Setae 1b 8 (6–10), 10 (9–10) apart; 1a 21 (15–26), 10 (9–10) apart; 2a 37 (24–41), 23 (23–24) apart. Genitalia 12 (11–14), 20 (20–21) wide, genital coverflap with 8–10 longitudinal ridges situated anteriorly ( Fig. 3 CG); setae 3a 15 (14–19).

Opisthosoma with 36 (32–38) dorsal annuli and 53 (51–54) ventral annuli both with microtubercles ( Fig. 3 LM), 5–6 coxo-genital annuli. Setae c1 32 (22–36) on 5 (4–5) annulus; setae c2 28 (26–31) on 10 (9–11) annulus; setae d 27 (26–31) on 21 (18–23) annulus; setae e 23 (21–26) on 34 (29–37) annulus; setae f 27 (23– 31) on 4th ventral annulus from rear. Setae h1 2 (2–3).

Male: not found.

Material examined. 10 protogyne females (slide # 1) from F. v i r i d i s (inside red hairy galls on leaves), RUSSIA: Leningrad Prov., Luga district, pine forest near Lake Beloye, 58°48.4' N, 30°29.7' E, 6 July 2008, leg. T.G. Chetverikova; 30 protogyne females, 4 deutogyne females and 22 nymphs (slides # 37-09 and # 38- 09) from red galls, the same host, locality, 25 July 2009, leg.Ph. E. Chetverikov; 12 deutogyne females (slide # 40-09) from the lower surface of dry leaves, the same host, locality and leg., 15 August 2009; 24 protogyne females and 18 nymphs (slides # 40-09 and # 41-09) from red galls, the same host, locality and leg., 15 August 2009; 4 deutogyne females (slide # 44-09) from the lower surface of dry leaves, the same host, locality and leg., 9 September 2009; 17 deutogyne females, 5 protogyne females and 3 nymphs (slide # 43-09) from red galls, the same host, locality and leg., 9 September 2009.

Deuterogyny of S. setiger . In contrast to the whitish or pallid pink protogyne females of S. setiger the deutogyne females of this species are bright orange. Morphologically these females do not differ. According to our field collections and observations in the laboratory during July numerous egg-laying protogyne females, plus nymphs and single deutogyne females, are present inside galls. During August the number of deutogyne females increases. By the end of August some leaves of their host-plants become dry. On these leaves only deutogyne females occur inside dry galls and on the lower leave surface. In the beginning of September we found numerous deutogyne females with single protogynes and nymphs (but no eggs) inside red galls on the leaves which still remained green and deutogyne females on dry leaves and inside dry galls.

Subfamily Tribe, species

Nalepellinae Nalepellini: Nalepella tsugifoliae Keifer, 1953 ; Setoptus jonesi (Keifer, 1938) ; Phantacrus

lobatus Keifer, 1965

Sierraphytoptinae Mackiellini: Palmiphytoptus oculatus Navia & Flechtmann, 2002 Sierraphytoptini : Sierraphytoptus setiger ( Nalepa, 1894)

Phyllocoptinae Phyllocoptini : Epitrimerus pyri ( Nalepa, 1894) ; Monotrymacus Mohanasundaram, 1982 ; Arectus bidwillius Manson, 1984 ; Caliphytoptus quercilobatae Keifer , 938; Neodicrothrix tiliacorae Mohanasundaram, 1984 ; Platyphytoptus salinianae Keifer, 1938 ; Petanovicia cerberae Boczek, 1996

Anthocoptini : Tegolophus colifraxini (Keifer, 1938)

Tegonotini : Glabrisceles euterpis Navia & Flechtmann, 2002 ; Scolocenus spiferus Keifer, 1962

Eriophyinae Eriophyini : Eriophyes pyri (Pagenstecher, 1857) ; Proartacris pinivagrans Mohanasundaram, 1984

Cecidiphyinae Cecidophyini : Achaetocoptes ajoensis (Keifer, 1961) ; Kolacarus bambusae Boczek, 1998 ;

Neserella decora Meyer & Ueckermann, 1989

Nothopodinae Nothopodini : Nothopoda rapanae Keifer, 1951 ; Anthopoda jonstoni Keifer, 1959 Colopodacini : Apontella bravasiae Boczek & Nuzzaci, 1988 ; Colopodacus africanus Keifer, 1960

Diptilomiopinae Neodiptilomiopus vishakantai Mohanasundaram, 1982 ; Diptilostatus nidipalpus Flechtmann,

2003

Remarks. Both described species of Sierraphytoptus from Fragaria spp. possess a suboral plate before coxa I ( Fig. 2 CG, 3 CG). The third species of this genus, S. alnivagrans from Alnus spp., has a weakly granulated suboral plate which was not drawn in Keifer's (1939) description (Petanović, personal communication). Other species of the tribe Sierraphytoptini apparently do not have a suboral plate. The nature of this structure is unclear, but is probably a protuberance of coxae I, and a generally accepted term for this plate does not exist (Lindquist 1996). In the 20th century it was figured many times in the descriptions of new species and named differently, e.g.: “ suboral plate ” (Kiefer 1953) and “ anterior coxal approximation ” (Kiefer 1965; Manson 1984). In the monograph “Revised keys to world genera of Eriophyoidea ” ( Amrine et al. 2003) we found 26 figures of type species having a similar plate ( Table 4). Besides, many eriophyid mite species from asteraceous plants and grasses ( Aceria spp., Aculodes spp. and Abacarus spp.) have this structure ( Petanović et al. 2000; Skoracka 2001, 2002; Petanović, personal communication). We think that the presence/absence of this plate, its form and design is of taxonomic significance.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Sierraphytoptus ambulans sp. n., female. D—female in dorsal view, AD—prodorsal shield, CGcoxogenital region, em—empodium and tarsal solenidion (enlarge), L 1 — leg I, L 2 — leg II. Scale: D = 60 µm; AD, CG, L 1, L 2 = 40 µm; D = 20 µm.

FIGURE 3. Sierraphytoptus setiger (Nalepa, 1894), female. LM—lateral view, AD—prodorsal shield, em— empodium and tarsal solenidion, L 1 — leg I, L 2 — leg II, CG—coxogenital region. Scale: LM = 90 µm; AD, CG = 40 µm; em = 25; L 1, L 2 = 40; CG = 65 µm.