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Abstract
Idiosomal chaetotaxy is known for the adult females of 1545 species in the family Phytoseiidae. There are 85 idiosomal setal patterns, in a range of from 38 to 25 pairs of setae. These setal patterns have a bell shaped distribution within this range with a low index of aggregation. The greatest adaptive radiation of setal patterns has centered on 2 focal patterns. There is uneven distribution of species within the morphocline from 38 to 25 pairs of setae, with a high index of aggregation. There also is uneven distribution of species among the 85 setal patterns. It is concluded on the basis of this neontological evidence that adaptive radiation of both idiosomal setal patterns and species in the Phytoseiidae is highly concentrated on a few basic morphological forms.
The distribution of species in the Phytoseiidae along the morphocline from holotrichy to hypotrichy is compared with that in 2 outgroups: the genus Lasioseius in the tribe Blattisociini and the Otopheidomenidae. The process of adaptive radiation in the Phytoseiidae seems to have been different from that in the other 2 groups.