Search for natural enemies of Raoiella indica Hirst in La Réunion Island (Indian Ocean)

G.J Moraes,S Quilici,S Kreiter,M.G.C Gondim,L.A.N Sa,T.M.M.G Castro

doi:10.1051/acarologia/20122043

Abstract

Since it first appeared in the New World in 2004, the palm red mite, Raoiella indica Hirst, has spread to many countries, from Florida (USA) to the northern part of Brazil. In this region, this mite has been recorded on several different hosts, but it has been most harmful to coconut. For different reasons, the chemical control of this pest is not feasible, and biological control has been considered an important measure to be pursued. The objective of this paper is to provide details about an effort to determine potential natural enemies of R. indica from La Reunion, for their possible introduction in northern Brazil. The only natural enemy consistently found in association with R. indica was identified as the phytoseiid Amblyseius largoensis Muma. A colony of this species was established with specimens collected from different parts of the island. This colony was introduced to Brazil, where subsequent assessments should indicate whether or not it should be released in the field.

Highlights

The palm red mite, Raoiella indica Hirst, was originally described about 88 years ago (Hirst, 1924) from Coimbatore, State of Tamil Nadu, in southern India
There is some confusion in the literature in relation to the plants attacked by R. indica, given that some authors cited this species on some dicotyledonous plants, while all the evidence suggest that it feeds and reproduces only on monocots (Carrillo et al 2011)
Raoiella indica was first found in the New World in 2004, where it was discovered on C. nucifera on the island of Martinique (Flechtmann and Etienne 2004)

Summary

Introduction

The palm red mite, Raoiella indica Hirst, was originally described about 88 years ago (Hirst, 1924) from Coimbatore, State of Tamil Nadu, in southern India. Raoiella indica was first found in the New World in 2004, where it was discovered on C. nucifera on the island of Martinique (Flechtmann and Etienne 2004) Since it has been reported from most of the Caribbean islands, Florida (USA), southern Mexico, northern Venezuela, northern Colombia and northern Brazil (Kane et al 2005; Flechtmann and Etienne 2006; Rodrigues et al 2007; FDACS 2007; NAPPO 2009; Carrillo et al 2011a; Navia et al 2011). It has been reported from most of the Caribbean islands, Florida (USA), southern Mexico, northern Venezuela, northern Colombia and northern Brazil (Kane et al 2005; Flechtmann and Etienne 2006; Rodrigues et al 2007; FDACS 2007; NAPPO 2009; Carrillo et al 2011a; Navia et al 2011) In this part of the world, R. indica has been found on a much larger number of hosts, including species of Arecaceae, the main group of hosts, as well as species of several other families

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