Neoseiulus houstoni (Schicha)

K, Ismail Döker, KhaustovK, Vladimir A. & JoharchiK, Omid, 2022, First report of plant inhabiting predatory mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae) in Maldives, Acarologia 62 (4), pp. 865-878 : 868

Neoseiulus houstoni (Schicha)

Amblyseius houstoni Schicha, 1987: 111 .

( Figure 3)

Material examined — Two females collected from Maafushi Island, Maldives, 3°56′40.5″ N 73°29′35.2″ E, Terminalia catappa L. ( Combretaceae ) in 25 December 2021.

Measurements — Female (n = 2) – Length of dorsal shield 278–288, width at level of

s4 140–155, width at level of S2 150–157 ( Figure 3a). Six pairs of dorsal solenostomes (gd1, gd2, gd5, gd6, gd8 and gd9). Setae measurements as follows: j1 18–22, j3 33–36, j4 18–19, j5 18–20, j6 22–23, J2 25–28, J5 7, z2 32–33, z4 34–37, z5 21, Z1 28–29, Z4 45–47, Z5 47–50,

s4 44 –45, S2 42 –44, S4 23 –25, S5 20 –23, r3 32, R1 29–33 and JV5 37–42. Distance between st1-st3 55–56, st2-st2 62–63, st5-st5 62–63; length of ventrianal shield 89–91, width at level of setae ZV2 70–73, width at level of anus 61–63, distance between preanal pores (gv3-gv3)

17 ( Figure 3b). Fixed cheliceral digit with three teeth (two apical and one basal) and pilus dentilis, movable digit with one tooth ( Figure 3c). Calyx of spermatheca 11–13 long ( Figure 3d). Chaetotaxy of legs as follows: Leg I; coxa 0 0/1 0/1 0, trochanter 1 0/1 0/2 1, femur 2 3/1 2/2 2, genu 2 2/1 2/1 2, tibia 2 2/1 2/1 2. Leg II; coxa 0 0/1 0/1 0, trochanter 1 0/1 0/2 1, femur

2 3/1 2/1 1, genu 2 2/0 2/0 1, tibia 1 2/1 1/1 1. Leg III; coxa 0 0/1 0/1 0, trochanter 1 1/1 0/2 0, femur 1 2/1 1/0 1, genu 1 2/1 2/0 1, tibia 1 1/1 2/1 1. Leg IV; coxa 0 0/1 0/0 0, trochanter 1 1/1 0/2 0, femur 1 2/1 1/0 1, genu 1 2/1 2/0 1, tibia 1 1/1 2/0 1. Length of macrosetae as follows: SgeIV 23, StiIV 18–21, StIV 29–30 ( Figure 3e).

World Distribution — Australia ( Schicha 1987), Brazil (reported as N. barreti Kreiter by Furtado et al. 2005), Mauritius ( Kreiter and Abo-Shnaf 2020), Reunion Island (Kreiter et al. 2020, reported as N. recifensis Gondim Jr. & Moraes, 2001 by Moraes et al. 2012) and Maldives (this study).

Remarks — Neoseiulus houstoni was described by Schicha (1987) based on the material collected on Vigna unguiculata (Fabaceae) : in Murray Island, Queensland, Australia. Kreiter et al. (2020) recently reported this species from Reunion Island. Based on the examination of the type materials, the authors suggested N. barreti Kreiter in Furtado et al. (2005) and N. recifensis Gondim Jr. & Moraes, 2001 as junior synonyms of N. houstoni . Morphological characters and measurements of the Maldivian specimens are almost identical to the original descriptions and subsequent redescriptions of all three species mentioned above ( Schicha 1987 ; Gondim Jr. and Moraes 2001; Furtado et al. 2005 ; Kreiter et al. 2020).