Influence of temperature on the population size of Aceria litchii (Acari: Eriophyidae) and the development of its galls.

Abstract

The lychee erinose mite, Aceria litchii (Keifer), is a tiny eriophyid mite known to induce the formation of open galls (erinea) on lychee plants, Litchi chinensis Sonn. In lychee infested by A. litchii, four stages of erineum are observed, based on erineum color: hyaline, white, amber and dark brown. The cause of the color change in erinea is unknown, but it might be linked to the extent of A. litchii infestation. Artificially infested lychee seedlings were used to determine the developmental time, trichome density, and mite population size in each of the four erineum stages. The effect of temperature (15, 25, and 35°C) on A. litchii population size and erineum developmental time was also investigated. Overall, each erineum stage lasted approximately 50 days and the population size of A. litchii increased gradually through the hyaline, white and amber stages, and a strong decline was observed in dark brown erinea. Visual comparisons of the low-temperature scanning electron microscope (LT-SEM) images revealed that the trichome density was lower in the hyaline stage than in the other stages. Temperature influenced mite population size and amber erinea developmental time. Mite population was lower at 35°C than at 15 and 25°C, suggesting that high temperatures promote detrimental effects on A. litchii. Amber erinea developed slower at 15°C than at 25 and 35°C. Possible effects of the temperature on A. litchii population in lychee plants are discussed.