Neoseiulus idaeus

Guanilo, Alberto Daniel, Moraes, Gilberto José De & Knapp, Markus, 2008, Phytoseiid mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae) of the subfamily Amblyseiinae Muma from Peru, with descriptions of four new species, Zootaxa 1880, pp. 1-47 : 28-29

Neoseiulus idaeus Denmark & Muma

Neoseiulus idaeus Denmark & Muma 1973: 266; Moraes et al. 2004: 124; Chant & McMurtry 2007: 29. Amblyseius idaeus, Moraes & McMurtry 1983: 134 .

Neoseiulus tridenticus Ueckermann, Moraes & Zannou 2006 , in Zannou et al. 2006: 271 (New synonymy).

FEMALE. (12 specimens measured)

Dorsal shield 353 (325–383) long and 169 (155–183) wide; j1 22 (20–24), j3 49 (46–53), j4 42 (37–45), j5 44 (40–47), j6 50 (46–54), J2 52 (48–57), J5 10 (9–12), z2 46 (42–51), z4 50 (45–55), z5 37 (33–41), Z1 53 (48–57), Z4 67 (62–75), Z5 69 (61–77), s4 61 (57–65), S2 58 (52–68), S4 39 (33–45), S5 32 (25–37), r3 30 (24–36), R1 36 (28–43). Sternal shield reticulate with posterior region lightly sclerotized; seta st3 off sternal shield; distances between st1-st3 60 (55–68) and st2-st2 60 (58–65) and st5-st5 71 (60–80); ventrianal shield reticulate 121 (108–132) long, 93 (85–99) wide at level of ZV2 and 77 (75–80) wide at level of anus; elliptic preanal pores posteromesad to JV2; JV5 52 (48–56). Peritreme extending forward to level of j3. Movable cheliceral digit 26 long, with 2 teeth; fixed cheliceral digit 25 long, with 5 teeth. Calyx of spermatheca cupshaped 10 (10–12) long. Macroseta sharp: StIV 44 (40–50). Chaetotaxy of genu II 2, 2/0-2/0, 1; genu III 1, 2/ 1-2/0, 1.

MALE. (2 specimens measured)

Dorsal shield 290 (288–293) long, 163 (150–175) wide; j1 20, j3 43 (40–45), j4 33, j5 38 (35–40), j6 40, J2 41 (40–41), J5 8 (5–10), z2 40 (38–43), z4 45 (44–45), z5 30 (27–33), Z1 44 (38–50), Z4 46 (45–47), Z5 48 (45–51), s4 48 (45–50), S2 45, S4 26 (25–28), S5 26 (25–28), r3 28 (28–29), R1 25. Ventrianal shield 118 (110–125) long, 140 (105–175) wide at the anterior corners; 4 pairs of lyrifissures (anterior to ZV1, posterolaterad to ZV1, anterolaterad to ZV3 and posterolaterad ZV3); elliptical preanal pores posteromesad with JV2. Peritreme extending forward to level of j3. Macroseta sharp: StIV 36 (35–38). Chaetotaxy of genua II and III as in female.

Specimens examined. Cuzco: Ollantaytambo — Río (13º15'38''S, 72º16' 01''W), 7-VII-2006, on Tecoma sp. ( Bignoniaceae ) (3Ψ, 2 immatures), on N. physaloides (4Ψ, 1ɗ, 1 immature), on S. nigrum (2Ψ). Tacna: Tacna — Pachia (17°53'26''S, 70°08'43''W), 12-VII-2006, on Brugmansia candida (4Ψ, 1ɗ). Amazonas: Bagua Grande — Esperanza Baja (05°45'22''S, 78°25'59''W), 1-VIII-2006, on Solanum albidum (3Ψ, 1ɗ); Bagua Grande — Cajaruro (05°50'14''S, 78°23'46''W), 1-VIII-2006, on Ricinus communis (5Ψ). Cajamarca: Jaén — Tila Alta (05°43'57''S, 78°57'13''W), 5-VIII-2006, on Datura stramonium (4Ψ, 2ɗ). La Libertad: Trujillo — Universidad Nacional de Trujillo (08°06'48''S, 79°02'23''W), 7-VIII-2006, on Nicandra physaloides (6Ψ).

Previous records. Argentina ( Furtado et al. 2007), Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay and Venezuela.

Remarks. In addition to the specimens collected in this study, we also examined 3 paratypes of this species from Álvaro de Carvalho, São Paulo, Brazil, several other specimens identified as N. idaeus from different parts of Brazil and one specimen from Paraguay. The females collected in this study and the paratype females all have a lightly sclerotized posterior margin of the sternal shield. Additionally, all of these specimens have st3 inserted off the sternal shield. The position of st3 was not mentioned in the text of the original description of N. idaeus , but in the original illustration st3 is shown inserted on the sternal shield. This led Ueckermann, Moraes and Zannou (in Zannou et al. 2006) to describe Neoseiulus tridenticus from Kenya as a new species, due to st3 being inserted off the sternal shield. Considering the great similarity between these two nominal species and the fact that N. idaeus was released in large numbers in Kenya in 1985 and 1989 (Yaninek et al. 1993) for the control of the cassava green mite, Mononychellus tanajoa (Bondar) , we conclude that N. tridenticus is a junior synonym of N. idaeus .