In some integrated pest management programs, different pollens are used as alternative or supplementary food sources for rearing of the generalist predatory mites. The aim of this study was to determine the performance of the predatory mite Neoseiulus cucumeris (Oudemans) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) on pollen of seven plant species including Panicum miliaceum, Punica granatum, Eruca sativa, Chenopodium album, Chaenomeles cathayensis, Datura stramonium, Caesalpinia gilliesii as a food source. All experiments were conducted at 25±1°C, 65±5% RH and 16:8 h (L:D) photoperiod. Age-stage, two-sex life table method was used for data analysis to take into account the variable developmental rate among individuals as well as stage differentiation. The predatory mite was able to survive to adult and reproduce on all pollen grains tested. The shortest pre-adult period was shown on P. granatum pollen. The intrinsic rate of increase (r) was between 0.162 to -0.097 day ^-1, which was observed on D. stramonium and P. miliaceum, respectively. The longest total lifespan of females, highest intrinsic rate of increase, finite rate of increase (λ) and net reproductive rate (R₀) were recorded on the D. stramonium pollen, while the shortest mean generation time (T) was on the P. granatum pollen. According to the results, in the absence or shortage of the main prey in the environment, the pollen of D. stramonium can be suggested as an alternative or supplementary food for N. cucumeris.

The study aimed to report peacock mites (Acari: Tuckerellidae) on cocoa fruits (Theobroma cacao L.; Malvaceae) in the northeast Bragantina region, state of Pará, Brazil. Two mite species were identified, Tuckerella ornata, with 149 specimens, 32.89% on leaves and 67.11% on fruits, and Tuckerella knorri, with only two specimens on leaves. It was found that green fruits with T. ornata significantly reduced the size and weight of seeds. More attacked fruits, with more severe damage, showed deformations and thick cracks. Significant damage was noted in the Forastero cocoa seeds, visible to the naked eye, with light brown spots and a fine crack on the epidermis.

This paper describes two new species of predatory mites belonging to the genus Paragigagnathus Amitai & Grinberg (Acari: Mesostigmata: Phytoseiisae), namely Paragigagnathus neodesertorum sp. nov. from Acacia raddiana L. (Fabaceae), and, P. jazanensis sp. nov. from Tamarix sp. (Tamaricaceae). Also, P. amantis (Chaudhri, Akbar & Rasool, 1979) is a new species record for Saudi Arabia, reported from Tamarix sp.

Two new species of Cunaxidae, namely Scutascirus scutusmedialis Wurlitzer & Ferla n. sp. and Coleoscirus sixsetaegenitalis Wurlitzer & Rocha n. sp. are illustrated and described based on females collected from soil in the village of Alter do Chão, located on the right bank (downstream) of the Tapajós River, 35 km southwest of the City of Santarém, Amazonian region, Pará state, Brazil.

The microbial community in arthropods often modulate host fecundity, yet processes driving their assembly remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated bacterial community assembly and host fecundity in Tetranychus truncatus that were exposed to antibiotics and varying temperatures. Antibiotic exposure dominates over temperature in shaping spider mite bacterial composition and network properties. Specifically, complexity of microbiota networks tend to decrease with antibiotic treatment while increasing along a temperature gradient from 20°C to 35°C. Analysis using neutral and null models revealed that bacterial community assembly in mites was chiefly driven by stochastic processes such as drift, with relative contribution > 85%. Relative contributions of each ecological process was rather weakly correlated with antibiotic and temperature conditions. Finally, fecundity tended to be lower in mites with microbiota variation following antibiotic treatment. This study reveals mechanisms underlying bacterial community assembly in spider mites and establishes microbiota as a potential mediator of host fecundity. Our results provide new insights into immediate adaptive processes between mites and microbiome in the context of environmental change.

A new feather mite species Proctophyllodes gracilitus sp. nov. is described from the mountain bulbul Ixos mcclellandii (Horsfield) (Passeriformes: Pycnonotidae) in China. The new species belongs to the mecistocaulus species-group and differs from the most similar species, P. stenophyllus Gaud & Mouchet, 1957, by having the following characters: in males of P. gracilitus, the terminal lamellae are thinner and longer (45–49×4–5) and the posterior part of the hysteronotal shield has circular lacunae; and in females setae h1 are situated at the level of posterior margin of supranal concavity, setae h2 are longer than terminal appendages, do not have enlargement in base, and setae h3 are about 2/3rds the length of terminal appendages. In addition, Proctophyllodes weigoldi Vitzthum, 1922 has been collected from the willow tit Poecile montanus (Baldenstein) (Passeriformes: Paridae) that is a new host record for this species. This species is redescribed, because it was found that specimens from Po. montanus have some minor morphological differences from specimens of the common blackbird Turdus merula Linnaeus (Passeriformes: Turdidae) (a type host) and eyebrowed thrush Turdus obscurus Gmelin (Passeriformes: Turdidae).

The Laysan Albatross Phoebastria immutabilis (Rothschild, 1893) is a seabird species included in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature as Near Threatened (NT). We sampled two feather mite species, Diomedacarus gigas (Dubinin, 1949) and Echinacarus petaliferus (Trouessart, 1898), from the three albatross, and provided their redescriptions. This is the first record of D. gigas from the past half-century in Japan and the first report of E. petaliferus in this country. The haplotype network of partial sequences of cytochrome oxidase subunit for D. gigas showed that six of the seven haplotypes were unique to the mites sampled from each host individual. This mite species may have a very little opportunity for horizontal transmission between host individuals since albatrosses live alone over sea areas, except the breeding period on land.

Pygmephorid mites are characterized by their phoretic relationships with a wide range of beetles worldwide. From a study of mites associated with Coleoptera deposited in the Colección de Insectos de la Universidad de Morelos, in Morelos, Mexico, a new species Spatulaphorus mexicanus sp. nov. (Acari: Pygmephoridae) is described, and the phoretic females of Acarothorectes curculionium Cross, 1965 and Elattoma abeskoun Rahiminejad & Hajiqanbar, 2011 associated with Cerambycidae and Scarabaeidae are reported. Spatulaphorus mexicanus sp. nov. can be differentiated from its described congeners by the presence of setae tc' and pl” on tarsi II and setae pl” on tarsi III, all of which are spiniform, the dorsal setae tips pointed, and setae v₁, c₁, d and f barbed. This new species of Spatulaphorus represent the first record of the genus from Mexico and only the second report from the American continent.

The morphological ontogeny of Graptoppia granadaensis S. et A. Seniczak sp. nov. is described and illustrated, based on the instars obtained from laboratory cultures. The adults of this species were collected from spruce litter (Picea sp.) in the Campus of University of Science in Granada, Spain. These adults are the most similar to that of G. tanaitica Karppinen et Poltavskaja, 1990, but differ from it by having fewer spines on the bothridial seta. In laboratory cultures, G. granadaensis fed on deciduous and pine litter and small parts of pine cones, overgrown by mycelium. The juveniles of this species are unpigmented, with soft body, covered with microtuberculate cerotegument. The larva has 12 pairs of gastronotal setae, including h₃, the nymphs have 15 pairs; all setae are smooth and mostly short. In the juveniles, seta d coupled to proper solenidia is present on genua I–III and tibiae II–IV.

The morphological ontogeny of Pilogalumna kazakhstanica sp. nov. from Kazakhstan is described and illustrated. The adult stage of this species is most similar to P. ornatula Grandjean, 1956, but differs from it mainly by slightly smaller body size and by having two postanal porose areas, whereas P. ornatula has usually a single porose area. In P. kazakhstanica the prodorsal porose area Ad and all notogastral porose areas are framed by dark brown integument, whereas in P. ornatula framed is usually porose area A1. The larva of P. kazakhstanica has 12 pairs of gastronotal setae, most are short and smooth, except for medium-sized and barbed c₂, c₃, h₁ and h₂, and minute, smooth h₃, the nymphs have 15 pairs, most are short and smooth, except for medium-sized and barbed c₂ and c₃. In the juvenile instars the gastronotal shield is poorly developed, bearing setae of d-, l-series and h₁ in the larva, and setae of d-, l-, h-series and p₁ in the nymphs. In all juveniles, a humeral organ is present, and setae of c-, ad-series and p₂ and p₃ are with microsclerites.

Mites are some of the most common guests of social insects, whether this relation is parasitic or not. There are a handful of larval species in Parasitengona worldwide that stablished a parasitic association with ants. The only two species in the genus Forania (Acari, Erythraeidae), F. mentonensis from France and F. sendrai from south Spain, are two of them. There are three captures reported for these two species in 92 years, all of them associated with ants. In this study, mite specimens captured from two locations in the surroundings of Barcelona and belonging to Forania are studied. This is the first report of F. mentonensis since 1930, and it is a new record for the Spanish fauna. Furthermore, a comprehensive search in the on-line citizen science resource Biodiversidad Virtual revealed at least twelve possible new citations of Forania sp. across the East Mediterranean side of Spain. These new data suggest a wider distribution and specific temporal location of these species than previously thought.

Tarsonemids are mites that can damage coconut fruits, leading to losses in crop yield and quality. In this study, a survey of tarsonemid species and associated predatory mites underneath the perianth of coconut was carried out on palms cultivated along the coast of northeastern Brazil, and their spatial distribution was studied in one of the cultivations, on fruits of different ages, to subsidize monitoring and management of pest species. Samples of fruits of different ages were collected from cultivation sites of 9 states, with sites ranging from a few km to a maximum of 100 km apart from one another. Three coconut palms were selected from each site, collecting 10 fruits with necrotic lesions similar to those caused by Steneotarsonemus species from each palm. The mites were collected, mounted and identified. For the analysis, a re-evaluation was done of the tarsonemids collected in similar surveys for mites in general on coconut fruits, as reported previously in the literature. Subsequently, a field in Igarassu (Pernambuco, Brazil) bearing fruits with symptoms caused by Steneotarsonemus species was selected, and a total of 943 fruits from 2–8-month-old bunches were collected for mite quantification and identification. Consequently, Steneotarsonemus concavuscutum Lofego and Gondim Jr., Steneotarsonemus furcatus De Leon, and four morphospecies of Tarsonemus were found under the perianths of coconut fruits growing along the coast of northeastern Brazil. In Igarassu, the most abundant tarsonemid was S. concavuscutum, representing 98.4% of all quantified mites. Populations of S. concavuscutum were observed in all fruit bunches, regardless of age (ranging from 19 to 167 mites/fruit), with the highest numbers occurring in the 6-month-old bunches. In this same geographic location, Neoseiulus baraki (Athias-Henriot) represented 99.0% of the predaceous phytoseiid mites, with a population ranging from 0.04 to 5.3 mites/fruit that attained the highest population levels on 7-month-old fruit bunches. The N. baraki population densities were positively correlated with the mean S. concavuscutum numbers.

The predatory mite, Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot (Acari: Phytoseiidae) is one of the most promising candidates for biological control of some economically important mites and insect pests such as spider mites, whiteflies, and thrips. Western Flower Thrips (WFT), Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) is a severe economic pest for many crops in the world. In this study the lethal concentrations of Shirazicum thymus: Zataria multiflora Boiss (Lamiaceae) essential oil was calculated to the adult stage of the WFT. Side effects LC₃₀ and LC₅₀ of the essential oil were assessed on life table parameters and functional response of A. swirskii. Experiments were carried out in growth chambers at 25 ± 1 °C, 60 ± 10% RH, and 16: 8 h (Light: Dark) photoperiod. We utilized the age-stage, two-sex life table method to evaluate the life history features and population growth of A. swirskii on WFT. For assessing the functional response, the first instar of WFT was offered as prey to the adult female of A. swirskii with densities of 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64. The LC₅₀ concentration of the essential oil resulted in lower fecundity (15.05 eggs/female) in comparison with the control (19.8 eggs/female). The application of LC₅₀ and LC₃₀ concentrations also resulted in a significant decrease in net reproductive rate (R₀) (8.9, 6.6, and 4.5 eggs per individuals), intrinsic rate of increase (r_m) (0.116, 0.093, and 0.077 day ^-1), finite rate of increase (λ) (1.123, 1.097, and 1.079 day ^-1), but an increase in mean generation time (T) (18.5, 20.1, and 19.5 days) (for control, LC₃₀, and LC₅₀, applications, respectively). A type II functional response was detected for A. swirskii fed on WFT first instar in all treatments. Adult females of A.swirskii had the highest attack rate (a) (0.11± 0.01 h^-1) and shortest handling time (1.61± 0.46h) on control treatment. In conclusion, although Z. multiflora essential oil had potential against F. occidentalis to be applied in integrated pest management programs, the lethal side effects of selected essential oil on the predatory mite, A. swirskii should be considered.

A new species of the genus Muliercula (Oribatida, Scheloribatidae)—M. altimontana sp. nov.—is described, based on materials collected from litter in Arsi Mountains National Park, Central Ethiopia. Generic diagnosis, identification key, data on distribution and habitats of the known species of Muliercula are presented.