Two new records of predatory mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae) in Bosnia and Herzegovina

ABSTRACT

Despite their importance as potential biological control agents, only two species of family Phytoseiidae (Acari: Mesostigmata) have so far been recorded in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Euseius finlandicus (Oudemans) and Phytoseius macropilis (Banks). Here, we report native populations of Amblyseius andersoni (Chant), a widely used predator in biological control programs around the world, and Neoseiulella tuberculatus (Wainstein), from Bosnia and Herzegovina. These species are briefly re-described and illustrated based on female specimens, as some morphological features show small variations. Dorsal setae z4, used to separate species groups in Amblyseius, are somewhat longer in Bosnian specimens of A. andersoni than those of previous reports. The length of this seta is as long as 2/3 distance between its base and that of setae s4. In addition, asymmetry is observed in a female specimen of N. tuberculatus in terms of insertion of pre-anal setae ZV2 (out of shield in right side). Setae J2, Z1, Z4, Z5, S2, S4, and S5 arise on very small tubercules in the specimen of N. tuberculatus.

KEYWORDS:

• Predatory mites
• Amblyseius
• Neoseiulella
• first report
• morphological variations

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.