Tarsonemus confusus Ewing 1939

K, Rana Akyazı, SoysalK, Mete & UeckermannK, Edward A., 2024, Mite species of kiwi vines in Türkiye, Acarologia 64 (4), pp. 1030-1051 : 1034

Tarsonemus confusus Ewing 1939

Material examined — 1 ♀ (Altınordu, N40°56′48.96″ E37°59′45.86″, 20 m, 02. IX.2019)

Remarks — Tarsonemus confusus was first reported on Delphinium belladonna ( Ranunculaceae ) by Ewing (1939). It is a cosmopolitan species and has been recorded on various continents including North America ( USA ; Canada), South America ( Brazil), Europe ( Türkiye, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia), East Asia ( Japan, Korea, China), and Africa ( Egypt) ( Zhang 2003 ; Santos 2011 ; Andrade-Bertolo et al. 2013 ; Akyazı et al. 2021). This species has been found worldwide on many plants, in soil, filters, house dust, and bird’s nests ( Zhang 2003 ; Demite et al. 2022). In Türkiye, this mite was first identified on Pyracantha coccinea Roem ( Rosaceae ) in Edirne ( Çobanoğlu 1995). Later, it was collected from many other plants, such as Cucumis sativus L. ( Cucurbitaceae ), Solanum esculentum L., Capsicum annuum L., Solanum nigrum L. ( Solanaceae ), Convolvulus arvensis L. ( Convolvulaceae ) Stellaria media L. ( Caryophyllaceae ), Amaranthus retroflexus L. ( Amaranthaceae ), Chenopodium album L. ( Amaranthaceae ) ( Tokkamış 2011), S. esculentum ( Çobanoğlu and Kumral 2014) , Solanum melongena L. ( Solanaceae ) ( Kumral and Çobanoğlu 2015), persimmon ( Akyazı et al. 2017), vegetables ( Soysal and Akyazı 2018), and pome fruits ( Akyol and Akyazı 2022). This species has been found in both thelytokous and sexual populations ( Lindquist 1986 ; Wrensch and Ebbert 1993 ; Hernandes and Feres 2006). Tarsonemus confusus was declared primarily a fungivorous mite ( Garga et al. 1997 ; Zhang 2003). In addition, it is considered a minor pest for some ornamentals in greenhouses in Europe and tomatoes in North America ( Zhang 2003). However, Zhang (2003) noted that T. confusus can cause significant damage to plants when its population is high. Recently, it has become an economically important pest in orchards in China ( Li et al. 2022). Although no reports regarding its damage to kiwi fruit have been identified, Wang et al. (1999) suggested that it is a major contributor to black dot symptoms on apple and peach fruit. Further evidence by Hao et al. (2007, 2010) also indicates that symptoms on bagged apples may be attributed T to. confusus ( Li et al. 2022) . It was also found strongly associated with core rot diseases in apple orchards ( Michailides et al. 1994 ;

Van der Walt et al. 2011 ; Li et al. 2022). Li et al. (2018) demonstrated that Neoseiulus barkeri Hughes ( Mesostigmata : Phytoseiidae ) has the potential to be a highly effective biological control agent for T. confusus . There is no record of its relationship with the predatory mite detected in the current study.