Amblyseius herbicolus (Chant)

Kreiter, Serge & Abo-Shnaf, Reham I. A., 2020, New records of phytoseiid mites from Mauritius Island (Acari: Mesostigmata, Acarologia 60 (3), pp. 520-545 : 529-531

Amblyseius herbicolus (Chant)

Typhlodromus (Amblyseius) herbicolus Chant 1959: 84 .

Amblyseius (Amblyseius) herbicolus, Muma 1961: 287 .

Typhlodromus herbicolus, Hirschmann 1962: 23 .

Amblyseius herbicolus, Moraes et al. 1986: 14, 1989: 79 , 2004: 27; Chant & McMurtry 2004: 208, 2007: 78.

Amblyseius impactus Chaudhri 1968: 553 (synonymy according to Daneshvar & Denmark 1982; Denmark & Muma 1989).

Typhlodromus (Amblyseius) amitae Bhattacharyya 1968: 677 (synonymy according to Denmark & Muma 1989).

Amblyseius deleoni Muma & Denmark 1970: 68 (synonymy according to Daneshvar & Denmark 1982; Denmark & Muma 1989).

Amblyseius giganticus Gupta 1981: 33 (synonymy according to Gupta 1986).

Amblyseius (Amblyseialus) thermophilus Karg 1991: 12 (synonymy according to El-Banhawy & Knapp 2011).

This species belongs to the largoensis species group as setae J2 and Z1 are present, setae s4 are minute and the ventrianal shield of the female is vase-shaped. It belongs to the largoensis species subgroup as setae Z4 are long, spermatheca has the calyx elongate and the female ventrianal shield is entire ( Chant and McMurtry 2004). Amblyseius herbicolus is widespread in all tropical and subtropical regions of the world. It is the second most abundant phytoseiid mites on Coffea arabica L. in Brazil, associated with Brevipalpus phoenicis (Geijskes) , vector of the coffee ring spot virus and it was found to be an efficient predator ( Reis et al. 2007). Amblyseius herbicolus is also found associated with the broad mite, P. latus in crops such as chili pepper ( Capsicum annuum L.) in Brazil and has also a good potential for controlling the pest. Rodriguez-Cruz et al. (2013) had studied biological, reproductive and life table parameters of A. herbicolus on three different diets: broad mites, castor bean pollen ( Ricinus communis L.) and sun hemp pollen ( Crotalaria juncea L.). The predator was able to develop and reproduce on all these three diets. However, its intrinsic growth rate was higher on broad mites and castor bean pollen. Feeding on alternative food such as pollen can facilitate the predator’s mass rearing and maintain its population on crops when prey is absent or scarce. Many polyphagous generalist phytoseiid mites are important natural enemies because they can feed on plant provided pollen and various prey species, and thus persist in crops even in the absence of target pests ( McMurtry et al. 2013). Hence, populations of these predators can be established in a crop by providing alternative food, thus increasing biological control. Alternative food affects P. latus control on chilli pepper plants by predatory mites ( Duarte et al. 2015). Amblyseius herbicolus had high oviposition and population growth rates when fed with cattail pollen ( Typha latifolia L.), chilli pepper pollen and bee-collected pollen, and a low rate on the alternative prey ( Tetranychus urticae Koch ). Supplementing pepper plants with pollen resulted in better control of broad mite populations ( Duarte et al. 2015). Release of A. herbicolus on young plants with weekly addition of honeybee pollen or cattail pollen until plants produce flowers seems a viable strategy to sustain populations of this predator ( Duarte et al. 2015). Amblyseius herbicolus was previously recorded in Comoros Archipelago ( Kreiter et al. 2018b) and in La Réunion ( Quilici et al. 1997, 2000; Kreiter et al. 2020c), but this is the first mention from Mauritius despite the fact that with 115 female specimens collected, this is one of the more common species.

World distribution: Argentina, Australia, Azores, Benin, Brazil, Burundi, Canary Islands, China, Colombia, Grande Comore Island, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Dr Congo, El Salvador, Ghana, Guadeloupe Island, Guatemala, Hawaii, Honduras, India, Iran, Kenya, Les Saintes Island, La Réunion Island, Madagascar Island, Malawi, Malaysia, Martinique Island, New Caledonia Island, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Senegal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, USA, Venezuela, West Indies.

Specimens examined: 116 ♀♀ and 3 im. in total. Curepipe, Anderson street (aasl 560 m, lat. 20°19 ′ 11 ″ S, long. 57°31 ′ 52 ″ E), 1 ♀ on Codiaeum variegatum (L.) Jussieu ( Euphorbiaceae ) and 8 ♀♀ on Cleome viscosa L. ( Cleomaceae ), 27/X/2018; Curepipe, La Marie (aasl 600 m, lat. 20°19 ′ 02 ″ S, long. 57°31 ′ 36 ″ E), 4 ♀♀ on Clidemia hirta (L.) D. Don ( Melastomataceae ), 27/X/2020; Curepipe, Usine à thé (aasl 557 m, lat. 20°18 ′ 54 ″ S, long. 57°31 ′ 29 ″ E), 1 ♀ on Antigonon leptopus Hooker and Arnott (Polygonaceae) and 2 ♀♀ on Hibiscus genevii Bojer ex Hook. (Malvaceae) , 27/X/2020; Curepipe, Botanical Garden (aasl 540 m, lat. 20°19 ′ 28 ″ S, long. 57°30 ′ 50 ″ E), 11 ♀♀ on C. hirta , 6 ♀♀ on Syzygium jambos (L.) Alston ( Myrtaceae ), 2 ♀♀ on Impatiens flaccida Arnott (Balsaminaceae) , 1 ♀ on Vernicia montana Loureiro ( Euphorbiaceae ) and 1 ♀ on Pachira glabra Aublet (Malvaceae) , 29/X/2018; Curepipe, Trou aux cerfs (aasl 593 m, lat. 20°19 ′ 04 ″ S, long. 57°30 ′ 47 ″ E), 1 ♀ and 2 im. on Pinus massoniana D. Don in Lambert ( Pinaceae ), 29/X/2018; Mare aux Vacoas (aasl 572 m, lat. 20°21 ′ 40 ″ S, long. 57°29 ′ 59 ″ E), 1 ♀ on Litsea monopetala (Roxburgh) Person (Lauraceae) , 30/X/2018; Mare aux Vacoas (aasl 589 m, lat. 20°22 ′ 36 ″ S, long. 57°29 ′ 10 ″ E), 4 ♀♀ on Cyathea excelsa Swartz (Cyatheaceae) , 30/X/2018; Piton Grand Bassin, Carrefour Chamarel (aasl 665 m, lat. 20°24 ′ 30 ″ S, long. 57°28 ′ 24 ″ E), 1 ♀ on Callistemon citrinus (William Curtis) Homer Collar Skeels (Myrtaceae) , 1 ♀ on Boehmeria penduliflora Weddell ex D.G.Long ( Urticaceae ) and 1 ♀ on Pinus eliottii Engelmann (Pinaceae) , 30/X/2018; Bassin Blanc (aasl 665 m, lat. 20°24 ′ 30 ″ S, long. 57°28 ′ 24 ″ E), 16 ♀♀ on C. hirta , 30/X/2018; Nouvelle-France (aasl 442 m, lat. 20°22 ′ 34 ″ S, long. 57°35 ′ 58 ″ E), 7 ♀♀ on Camelia sinensis (L.) Kuntze ( Theaceae ), 31/X/2018; Quartier Militaire (aasl 472 m, lat. 20°19 ′ 11 ″ S, long. 57°36 ′ 05 ″ E), 1 ♀ on C. hirta , 1/XI/2018; Curepipe, Morcellement de Séneville (aasl 534 m, lat. 20°19 ′ 05 ″ S, long. 57°32 ′ 17 ″ E), 6 ♀♀ on Ocimum gratissimum L. ( Lamiaceae ), 2 ♀♀ on Brillantaisia owariensis Beauvois (Acanthaceae) and 1 ♀ on Persea americana Miller (Lauraceae) , 2/XI/2018; Curepipe, Bld Pasteur (aasl 510 m, lat. 20°19 ′ 21 ″ S, long. 57°31 ′ 45 ″ E), 2 ♀♀ on Acalypha hispida Burman (Euphobiaceae) , 8 ♀♀ on Ageratum conozoides L. ( Asteraceae ), 2 ♀♀ on Strobilanthes hamiltonianus (Steudel) Bosser et Heine (Acanthaceae) , 8 ♀♀ on Duranta erecta L. ( Verbenaceae ) and 1 ♀ on Terminalia mantaly Perrier (Combretaceae) , 4/XI/2018; Curepipe, Domaine Les Aubineaux (aasl 560 m, lat. 20°19 ′ 21 ″ S, long. 57°31 ′ 45 ″ E), 1 ♀ on S. jambos , 4 ♀♀ and 1 im. on Thumbergia sp. ( Acanthaceae ) and 10 ♀♀ on Cupressus sempervirens L. ( Cupressaceae ), 4/XI/2018; Mare aux Vacoas (aasl 581 m, lat. 20°21 ′ 05 ″ S, long. 57°29 ′ 31 ″ E), 1 ♀ on Ludwigia octovalvis (Jacquemin) P.H.Raven (Onagraceae) , 30/X/2018.

Remarks: this species was reported before by Kreiter et al. (2018b) in the Grande Comore Island of the Comoros Archipelago in the Indian Ocean with two females collected. Curiously, Ferragut and Baumann (2019) had not reported it from Mauritius in their study despite the fact that it seems to be the more common species in Mauritius Island and at least the more numerous species after our study. It is interesting to notice that, despite the large number of female specimens, no male was collected just like in La Réunion Island ( Kreiter et al. 2020c).

Amblyseius herbicolus was also recently reported from Vietnam ( Kreiter et al. 2020b) and La Réunion Island ( Kreiter et al. 2020c). Morphological and morphometric characters and all measurements fit well previous measurements in Kreiter et al. (2018b, 2020b, c).