MELICHARIDAE

De Moraes, Gilberto J., Britto, Erika P. J., Mineiro, Jefferson L. De C. & Halliday, Bruce, 2016, Catalogue of the mite families Ascidae Voigts & Oudemans, Blattisociidae Garman and Melicharidae Hirschmann (Acari: Mesostigmata), Zootaxa 4112 (1), pp. 1-299 : 11-12

MELICHARIDAE

FEMALE

Gnathosoma. Anterior margin of epistome variously shaped, smooth or denticulate. Usually h3 longer than h1, h2 and pc; insertion of h2 variable. Inner palp trochanter seta elongate or not. Deutosternum varying from narrow to wide, with delimiting lateral lines. Corniculi usually 1–4 times as long as their basal widths (up to six times in some Proctolaelaps ); usually with pointed tips (except in Rhinoseius and some Proctolaelaps , 2- or 3-tined), well separated or close to each other, parallel or distally convergent. Palp tarsal apotele two-tined (trifurcate in some Proctolaelaps ). Cheliceral digits of similar lengths; fixed digit usually with 1–20 teeth in addition to apical tooth and an antiaxial expanded membranous lobe instead of setiform pilus dentilis (except Orthadenella and some Proctolaelaps ; with a dorsodistal pointed process in Mucroseius and some Proctolaelaps ); movable digit with 0–3 teeth (four in some Proctolaelaps ); usually with a ventral mucro near base.

Idiosoma. Elongate to ovoid. Dorsum: podonotal and opisthonotal shields usually fused, smooth or ornamented, with or without distinct lateral incisions at region of fusion, transverse and nearly straight lines or delineated strip along lateral margins; without posterior tubercles; anterior end of dorsal shield not strongly deflexed. No supernumerary setae on dorsal shield (except in Spadiseius ). Unsclerotised lateral cuticle usually without supernumerary setae (except in Spadiseius , some Rhinoseius and some Tropicoseius ). Podonotal region of shield with 14–23 pairs of setae (25–27 pairs in Spadiseius ). Opisthonotal region of shield with 10–22 pairs of setae.

Unsclerotised lateral cuticle with 0–16 pairs of setae (up to 22 pairs in Tropicoseius and 26 pairs in Rhinoseius ); with or without UR setae. Vent er: with 0–1 pair of presternal plates (two pairs in some Proctolaelaps ). Sternal shield usually with three pairs of setae (st1–st3; the latter often inserted on unsclerotised area in Spadiseius ; only 1– 2 pairs in Xanthippe , st2 or st2–st3), usually of similar length and shape (except in Orolaelaps ) and two pairs of lyrifissures (iv1–iv2); posterior margin truncate to deeply concave (lightly sclerotised in some Mucroseius ; convex in Xanthippe ). Seta st4 and lyrifissures iv3 inserted on metasternal plates or on unsclerotised cuticle; iv3 may be absent. Genital shield usually not wide enough to include iv5, but including st5 (not including st 5 in Rhinoseius and Spadiseius ; also including iv 5 in Orthadenella lawrencei Evans ); posterior region usually truncate to convex. One or two pairs of metapodal plates. With or without sclerotised line or platelets between genital and anal shields. Opisthogaster with 6–12 pairs of setae (13 pairs in some Proctolaelaps and 14 pairs in some Rhinoseius ); most often with an anal shield bearing only circumanal setae; in some genera with small ventrianal shield, bearing 1–3 pairs of setae (broad ventrianal shield bearing 5–6 pairs of setae in Orthadenella ); with separate ventral and anal shields in Proctogastrolaelaps ; para-anal setae usually inserted between levels of posterior margin and mid-length of anal opening (between levels of anterior margin and mid-length in Tropicoseius , Xanthippe , some Orthadenella and some Proctolaelaps ); usually varying from as long as to about half as long as post-anal seta (shorter in some Tropicoseius and some Proctolaelaps ). Anal opening not enlarged (enlarged in Mucroseius and in some Proctolaelaps ). Anterior section of endopodal shield usually fused with sternal shield (endopodal shield reduced, lending narrow appearance to sternal shield by the absence of the usual triangular projection between coxae I–II and the reduced projection between coxae II–III in Rhinoseius ); section behind sternal shield usually well developed (indistinct or weakly sclerotised in Melichares , Rhinoseius , Spadiseius and some Tropicoseius ). Exopodal shield distinct or indistinct between coxae II–IV.

Peritreme. Extending from stigma at least to level of s2 (not extending to s 2 in some Rhinoseius , some Spadiseius and some Xanthippe ), about as wide as or narrower than diameter of stigma. Peritrematic shield narrow or wide, fused anteriorly with dorsal shield (fused or not fused in Melichares agilis Hering ), not fused or fused by a narrow bridge to exopodal shield beside coxa IV (by a relatively wide bridge in Orthadenella ).

Legs. All legs with pretarsi. Median section of pulvilli of legs II–IV rounded. Usual setation of legs I–IV, genu: 13, 11, 9, 9; tibia: 13, 10, 8, 10 (some Mucroseius with nine setae on tibia III; some Proctolaelaps with 12 on genu I, 7– 8 setae on genu III, nine setae on tibiae III and IV; Rhinoseius with eight setae on tibia III; some Spadiseius with 10 setae on genu IV and 12 setae on tibia I; Mycolaelaps with very reduced setation: 12, 7, 6, 6 (7); 9 (12), 7, 6 (7), 5 (6). Leg II not distinctly different from other legs (except in some Rhinoseius and Tropicoseius , slightly stouter). Legs without macrosetae (except in Mucroseius and some Proctolaelaps ).

Spermathecal apparatus. Laelapid-type; in some genera, indistinct.

MALE (not including: Mucroseius and Orthadenella )

Fixed cheliceral digit with 1–12 teeth in addition to apical tooth; movable digit with 0–1 tooth in addition to apical tooth; spermatodactyl from about as long as movable digit to several times as long as movable digit. Sternogenital shield with five pairs of setae (st1–st5; four pairs in Rhinoseius antioquiensis Fain & Hyland - st3 off the shield; and in some specimens of Spadiseius - st5 off the shield) and three pairs (iv1–iv3) of lyrifissures (only iv1 and iv2 distinct in Orolaelaps ). Usually with a ventrianal shield bearing 3–9 pairs of setae in addition to circumanal setae (with separate ventral and anal shields in some Rhinoseius ; with just an anal shield in Tropicoseius chazdonae Naskrecki & Colwell ). Legs similar to female or with some modified setae on the ventral side of some segments; similar or thicker than other legs.