Phytoseius punicae Chinniah & Mohanasundaram, 2001

Kreiter, Serge, Payet, Rose-My, Douin, Martial, Fontaine, Olivier, Jacques, Fillâtre & Bellec, Fabrice Le, 2020, Phytoseiidae of La Réunion Island (Acari: Mesostigmata): three new species and two males described, new synonymies, and new records, Acarologia 60 (1), pp. 111-195 : 177-179

Phytoseius punicae Chinniah & Mohanasundaram

Phytoseius punicae Chinniah & Mohanasundaram, 2001: 526 .

This species belongs to the plumifer species group as setae J2 and R1 are present ( Chant and McMurtry 1994).

This species was recorded in India, in Tamil Nadu state ( Demite et al. 2019). Its biology is totally unknown.

This is the first record of this species in La Réunion Island.

Specimens examined: A single ♀ in total, measured. Le Tampon – Bras de Pontho, Aldo Grace farm (aasl 661 m, Long 55°29’48” E, Lat 21°14’33” S), 1 ♀ on D. incanum , 21/2/2017.

Remarks: measurement values of morphological characters ( Table 34 ) were compared to those obtained for specimens of India, the only country in which Phytoseius punicae was recorded and specimens measured. Values of measurements are very close except for seta j3, z3 and st1-st3 length of sternal shield that are smaller compared to specimens of India. Macrosetae StIV is however longer in the single specimen of La Réunion Island.