A new species of Amblyseius Berlese (Acari: Phytoseiidae) from Brazil

Abstract

Phytoseiid mites have received considerable world wide attention because of their potential as natural enemies of phytophagous mites (McMurtry, 1984). The Amblyseius obtusus group Chant is the largest species group in the genus Amblyseius. Chant & McMurtry (2004) divided the group into seven subgroups based on spermathecal morphology. The andersoni subgroup of Chant & McMurtry, 2004 is characterized by a spermatheca with the calyx dish-, cup-, bell-, or V-shaped, with the length/width ratio at the mid-point of the calyx < 3:1. A total of 24 species of the andersoni subgroup are known from the Neotropical region, 13 of these from Brazil (Moraes et al., 2004). A new species of this subgroup, Amblyseius paulofariensis sp. nov., is described and illustrated in this paper, from specimens collected in the semi-deciduous forest area of “Estação Ecológica de Paulo de Faria”, a protected natural area in the State of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil, on three species of Euphorbiaceae: Acalypha diversifolia Jacq., Actinostemon communis (Müll. Arg.) and Alchornea glandulosa Poepp. & Endl.. In the region where this mites was found, the climate is of the type Cwa-Aw of Köppen, with two distinct seasons: one wet, from October to March, and the other dry, from April to September. The annual mean temperature is 25°C, with a maximum mean of 30°C and a minimum mean of 20°C (Barcha & Arid, 1971; Arid & Barcha, 1973).