Amblyseius haleakalus Prasad, 1516

Kreiter, Serge, Payet, Rose-My, Abo-Shnaf, Reham & Douin, Martial, 2021, New Phytoseiidae (Acari: Mesostigmata) of Mascareignes and Comoros Archipelagos (Indian Ocean): one new record, three new species groups and description of six new species and of six unknown males, Acarologia 61 (4), pp. 845-889 : 860

Amblyseius haleakalus Prasad

Amblyseius haleakalus Prasad 1968: 1516 ; Moraes et al. 1986: 14, 2004b: 27 ; Denmark & Muma 1989: 97 ; Chant & McMurtry 2004: 199, 2007: 78.

Amblyseius (Multiseius) haleakalus , Denmark & Evans 2011: 75.

Description of adult male of Amblyseius haleakalus Prasad (n = 1, Figs 5 a-d)

Dorsum ( Fig. 5a ) – Dorsal shield smooth, 300 long and 193 wide, with seven solenostomes (gd1, gd2, gd4, gd5, gd6, gd8 and gd9), seven pairs of poroids visible, 19 pairs of dorsal setae (r3 and R1 on dorsal shield): j1 33, j3 33, j4 4, j5 4, j6 8, J2 8, J5 5, z2 8, z4 9, z5 6, Z1 8, Z4 85, Z5 (half-broken), s4 80, S2 10, S4 9, S5 8, r3 8, R1 8. All setae smooth, except for Z4 lightly serrate and Z5 probably slightly serrate, but not all visible because both members of Z5 are damaged.

Peritreme and peritremal plate ( Fig. 5a ) – Extending to level of j1 ; peritremal plate fused with dorsal shield at level of z2.

Venter ( Fig. 5b ) – Sternogenital shield smooth with only few striae, five pairs of setae (st1-st5) and two pairs of poroids (iv1 and iv2). Distances st1-st1 54, st2-st2 61, st3-st3 60, st1-st5 117, st4-st4 48, st5-st5 38. Ventrianal shield 140 long, 148 wide at anterior corners and 75 wide at level of para-anal setae. Ventrianal shield reticulate with three pairs of pre-anal setae (JV1, JV2 and ZV2), and a pair of small crateriform gv3, between JV2 bases, 16 apart. A pair of poroids iv5 and three pairs of poroids ivo also discernible. Unsclerotized cuticle arround ventrianal shield with a pair of setae (JV5). Seta JV5 smooth, 48 long.

Chelicerae ( Fig. 5c ) – Fixed digit 23 long, with at least ten teeth discernible; and movable digit 23 long, with no teeth discernible. Spermatodactyl shaft 21 and branch 7. Pilus dentilis not visible.

Legs ( Fig. 5d ) – All legs with pointed macrosetae similar to adult female. Measurements: SgeI not measured, SgeII 24, SgeIII 30, StiIII 30, SgeIV 60, StiIV 55, StIV 57. Chaetotactic formula of genua II and III similar to adult female.

Specimens examined. One single ♂ collected during this study, measured and deposited as a complementary voucher specimen.

MAURITIUS ISLAND. Curepipe, Anderson Street (560 m aasl, 20°19′11′′ S, 57°31′52′′

E), one ♂ (along with eight ♀♀ on the same leaves of the same plant collected in the same time) on Araucaria columnaris (Forster) Hook (Araucariaceae) , 4/XI/2018.

Voucher material. One male on one slide is deposited in Institut Agro (Montpellier SupAgro) – INRAE Acarology collection, Montpellier, France.

Differential diagnosis and remarks. This species belongs to the obtusus species group as seta z4 is minute and female ventral shield is not vase-shaped or divided. It belongs to the andersoni species subgroup as the spermatheca has a differentiated atrium, a calyx not dotted or annulated, not swollen basally and calyx dish-, cup-, bell- or V-shaped. The following combination of characters, indicated below in the description of the male of this species, is quite similar to the few described males of species of Amblyseius belonging to the obtusus species group and to the andersoni species subgroup.

Not many characters allow to distinguish it from all males of other species if no females are collected in the same time: the peritreme reaching level of j1, absence of reticulation of the dorsal shield, some dorsal setae lengths, especially z2, z4, r3 and S2 approximately of the same length (12–15), additional macrosetae on all other legs than leg IV, macrosetae of leg IV not subequal, a sternogenital shield smooth, ventrianal shield reticulate, only three pairs of pre-anal setae, a pair of crateriform gv3 between JV2. All described males of the large species subgroup andersoni have similar ventrianal shield reticulate with three pairs of pre-anal setae.

Characters of males are very similar to that of adult females, except of course for length of setae and few other characters. The only difference is that ventrianal shield of the male is moderately reticulate, while the ventrianal shield of the female is not.

Figures

Figure 5 Paratype male of Amblyseius haleakalusPrasad – a. Dorsal shield, b. Ventral shields, c. Spermatodactyl, d. Genu, tibia and basitarsus of leg IV.