Neoseiulus benjamini ( Schicha 1981 )

Kreiter, Serge, Zriki, Ghais, Ryckewaert, Philippe, Pancarte, Clovel, Douin, Martial & Tixier, Marie-Stéphane, 2018, Phytoseiid mites of Martinique, with redescription of four species and new records (Acari: Mesostigmata), Acarologia 58 (2), pp. 366-407 : 391

Neoseiulus benjamini ( Schicha 1981)

Amblyseius benjamini, Schicha, 1981 ; Amblyseius (Amblyseius) benjamini, Ueckermann &

Loots 1988.

Neoseiulus benjamini, Moraes et al., 1986: 72 ; Moraes et al., 2004b: 108; Chant & McMurtry, 2003: 27; Chant & McMurtry, 2007: 25.

Neoseiulus benjamini (Schicha) was previously known from Australia and South Africa ( Schicha 1981; Ueckermann and Loots 1988; Beard 2001) and found recently in the Neotropical area, in Brazil where it seems to be quite common in several states ( Lofego et al. 2009; Rezende and Lofego 2011, 2012; Demite et al. 2011, 2012; Rezende et al. 2012). This is the first record of this species in the French Caribbean islands. Lofego et al. (2009) found a great variation in the number of teeth on both cheliceral digits, even between right and left chelicerae of the same individual. Neoseiulus benjamini belongs to paspalivorus species group (14 species) of the large genus Neoseiulus and it is more similar to N. mumai ( Denmark) , N. paspalivorus

(De Leon) and N. baraki (Athias-Henriot) . Neoseiulus paspalivorus was previously found in Guadeloupe in two locations ( Moraes et al. 2000; Mailloux et al. 2010, specimens of N. paspalivorus misidentified as N. baraki ; Kreiter et al. 2013, correct identification as N. paspalivorus ) but not in Martinique. However N. paspalivorus differs from N. benjamini by having the pre-anal pores longitudinally aligned with the base JV of 2 and setae Z4 and StIV shorter (12 and 18 μm respectively against 18 and 25-28 respectively for our two specimens). Whether these differences can really allow distinctions between different species and not variations of the same or disable to distinguish a significant number of cryptic species demands a further investigation. Molecular and other tools ( Tixier et al. 2009; Famah Sourassou et al. 2012) would be of great help for not only a lot of phytoseiid mites identification but also for that species group in particular. This species was found on pineapples associated with Dolichotetranychus floridanus (Banks) and Bryobia tuberosa Meyer (Schicha 1987) but most of the biology of N. benjamini remains totally unknown.

Specimens examined — Lamentin, CIRAD-CAEC station (long. 14°37′N, lat. 60°58′O,

alt. 25 m), 1 ♀ on N. wightii , 15-VII-2013; Saint-Joseph, Rivière Lézarde, CIRAD (long. 14°39′N, lat. 60°59′O, alt. 45 m), 1 ♀ on citrus leaves (C. sinensis et C. latifolia ), 17-VII-2012 .

Previous record — Australia (New South Wales, Queensland), Brazil (Distric Federal, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Tocantins), South Africa.

Remarks — The measurements reported in the table 10 of the two specimens collected during this study agree well with measurements of specimens of Lofego et al. (2009) from

Brazil and even also with the holotype of Schicha (1981), with only very slight differences.