Proprioseiopsis ovatus (Garman)

Kreiter, Serge, Payet, Rose-My, Douin, Martial, Fontaine, Olivier, Jacques, Fillâtre & Bellec, Fabrice Le, 2020, Phytoseiidae of La Réunion Island (Acari: Mesostigmata): three new species and two males described, new synonymies, and new records, Acarologia 60 (1), pp. 111-195 : 163-165

Proprioseiopsis ovatus (Garman)

Amblyseiopsis ovatus Garman 1958: 78 .

Amblyseiulus ovatus, Muma 1961: 278 .

Typhlodromus (Amblyseius) ovatus, Chant 1959: 90 .

Typhlodromus ovatus, Hirschmann 1962: 19 .

Proprioseiopsis (Proprioseiopsis) ovatus, Karg 1989: 208 .

Proprioseiopsis ovatus, Moraes et al. 1986: 121 ; 2004a: 184; Chant & McMurtry 2005a: 15; 2007: 89.

Proprioseiopsis antonelli Congdon (Synonymy according to Denmark & Evans (2011). Proprioseiopsis cannaensis (Muma) (Synonymy according to Denmark & Evans (2011). Proprioseiopsis hundsonianus (Chant & Hansell) — (Synonymy according to Denmark & Evans (2011); Proprioseiopsis parapeltatus (synonymy according to Tseng 1983). Proprioseiopsis peltatus (van der Merwe) (synonymy according to Tseng 1983).

Like P. mexicanus , P. ovatus belongs to the belizensis species (see above). As the spermatheca of that species is saccular, it belongs to the belizensis species subgroup ( Chant and McMurtry 2005a).

This species is known from Guadeloupe, Marie-Galante and Martinique ( Kreiter and Moraes 1997; Moraes et al. 2000; Mailloux et al. 2010; Kreiter et al. 2018c). This species was found in very large number only during a previous study on companion plant in Guadeloupe ( Mailloux et al. 2010) and in a recent study in La Réunion (Le Bellec, unpub. data). In other habitats, this species seems to be rare. This species like P. mexicanus seems to be abundant on weeds in the lower vegetation. Denmark and Evans (2011) indicated that this species is associated with O. pratensis and Brevipalpus sp. It was also found in association with T. evansi ( Furtado et al. 2014) but mentioned as poor predator of that species. Despite this information, the biology of this species remains unknown.

This is the first mention of this species from La Réunion.

Specimens examined: 58 ♀♀ in total, 12 ♀♀ measured. Petite Île – Piton Bloc , Yébo Luguy farm (aasl 973 m, Long 55°34’64” E, Lat 21°18’64” S), 1 ♀ on R. raphanistrum , 26/11/2015 ; 1 ♀ on P. lanceolata , 9/12/2015; 1 ♀ on A. conyzoides , 4 ♀♀ on R. raphanistrum , 1♀ on I. indica , 28/4/2016; 4 ♀♀ on R. raphanistrum , 1 ♀ on B. pilosa , 2 ♀♀ on Citrus lemon Eureka, 24/5/2016 ; Le Tampon – Grand Tampon, Janick Bénard farm (aasl 1100 m, Long 55°34’12” E, Lat 21°16’48” S), 1 ♀ on L. camara , 9/12/2015 ; Saint-Gilles – Pépinières du Théâtre (aasl 70 m, Long 56°13’58” E, Lat 21°2’50” S), 1 ♀ on Ipomoea nil (L.) Roth, 14/2/2017 ; Saint-Pierre – Bassin-Plat CIRAD Research Station (aasl 153 m, Long 55°29’18” E, Lat 21°19’25” S), 40 ♀♀ in plot CC, 1 in plot F, 1 ♀ in plot H, 6/4/2017.

Remarks: measurements of female specimens of La Réunion ( Table 24 ) fit well those obtained for populations of various countries. Despite the great number of females sampled, no male was recorded.