Rediscovery of Prasadiseius cocytes (Prasad, 1970) (Acari: Otopheidomenidae) in Neotropical countries

ABSTRACT

The ectoparasitic mite, Prasadiseius cocytes (Prasad) (Acari: Otopheidomenidae) was originally described from museum-preserved specimens of the sphingid moth, Cocytius duponchel (Poey) (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae), collected in Peru (South America) in July 1962. A recent examination of the sphingid moths in the collection of the entomology museum of Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA during 2009, revealed the presence of this mite on material collected in South America from Brazil on Cocytius duponchel in August 1993 and Enyo ocypete (Linnaeus) in April 1996; from Ecuador on Enyo gorgon Cramer in October 2001, Eumorpha labruscae (Linnaeus) in August 2002 and Manduca rustica (Fabricius) in October 2001; from Peru on Manduca sp. in December 2008, Xylophanes docilis (Butler) in November 2007 and Xylophanes pyrrhus Rothschild and Jordan in July 1962 and November 2007; and in the Central American country of Guatemala on Adhemarius gannascus (Stoll) in July 2005 and Lintneria merops (Boisduval) in August 2006.

Key words:

• Mites
• Sphingidae
• ectoparasitic mites
• Mesostigmata
• Brazil
• Ecuador
• Guatemala
• Peru
• Neotropical

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am grateful to Dr. Ernest S. Delfosse, the Chairman, Dr. Anthony Cognato, the Museum Director, and Mr. Gary Parsons, the Collection Manager, of the A. J. Cook Arthropod Research Collection, all of the Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA for allowing me to examine the sphingid collection. Mr. Gary Parsons helped in numerous other ways, including taking several photographs. Mr. Mark A. Churchill, hobbyist lepidopterist, Grand Rapids, MI; Frank M. West, M.D., an Emergency Room Physician, hobbyist lepidopterist and curator of the sphingid moths at the MSU museum, and his wife, Mrs. Anna M. West, East Lansing, MI, collected numerous sphingid moths on which this paper is based. In addition, they provided important information about the moths. Indira Prasad, my wife, helped with both the examination of the moths and collection of the mites. Dr. Carlos H.W. Flechtmann, Pesquisador do CNPq-Brasil Researcher, Universidad de Sâo Paulo ESALQ, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil sent an appropriate map of Brazil and Mr. Alberto D. Guanilo Alvarado, of Peru (now working as a researcher in acarology in Australia) helped by sending an appropriate map and details of Peru. He also examined the draft of this paper and provided many valuable suggestions. Some reviewers suggested other changes which were incorporated. These are greatly appreciated and kindly acknowledged with thanks.

Notes

*This expedition was completed in August 2010 in which live otopheidomenid mites on live hawk moths were seen for the first time by this author in the Amazon forests of Peru. The results are being prepared for publication in the future.