Phytoseius hongkongensis, Swirski & Shechter, 1961

Kreiter, Serge, Payet, Rose-My & Azali, Hamza Abdou, 2021, Phytoseiid mites (Acari: Mesostigmata) of Mohéli Island (Comoros Archipelago), Acarologia 61 (1), pp. 94-114 : 106

Phytoseius hongkongensis

Phytoseius (Phytoseius) hongkongensis Swirski & Shechter 1961: 99 ; Amitai & Swirski 1966:

22.

Phytoseius (Pennaseius) hongkongensis Ehara 1966: 25 ; Ehara 1972: 169 ; Moraes et al. 1986: 211.

Phytoseius hongkongensis Moraes et al. 2004a: 240 ; Chant & McMurtry 2007: 129.

This species belongs to the plumifer species group ( Chant and McMurtry 1994) as setae

R1 and J2 are present. This species was described from specimens collected on Heterosmilax gaudichaudiana (Kunth) Maximovich (Smilacaceae) , and Urena lobata L. ( Malvaceae ) in Victoria Mount Forest, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. Although species of the genus Phytoseius are considered to belong to the type III (polyphagous generalist predators) of McMurtry and Croft (1997) and McMurtry et al. (2013), its specific biology is totally unknown.

World distribution: Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, DR Congo, Kenya, Madagascar Island, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Reunion Island, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Specimens examined: 22 specimens (16 ♀♀, 2 ♂♂ and 4 imm.) collected during this study. Fomboni, Les­Hauts (60 m aasl, 12°17 ′ 29 ″ S, 43°44 ′ 35 ″ E), 7 ♀♀ and 2 imm. on Psidium cattleianum Afzelius ex Sabine (Myrtaceae) , 7 ♀♀ and 2 imm. on Annona senegalensis Persoon (Annonaceae) and 4 ♀♀, 2 ♂♂ and 1 imm. on Adansonia digitata L. ( Malvaceae ), 2/XII/2018.

Remarks: Measurements of the three adult females agree well with measurements of the literature, especially with those of Ueckermann et al. (2007) obtained with a great number of specimens (29) from various countries in Africa with those of Kreiter et al. (2020b) for specimens from Vietnam.