Amblyseius herbicolus ( Chant, 1959 )

Faraji, Farid & Hoekstra, Paul H., 2021, Some new species records of the predatory mite family Phytoseiidae (Acari: Mesostigmata) from The Netherlands, Soil Organisms 93 (1), pp. 35-57 : 39

Amblyseius herbicolus ( Chant, 1959)

For other names and synonyms see Demite et al. (2021)

( Fig. 3 : A–E)

Female– One specimen measured.

Idiosomal setal pattern: 10A:9B/JV–3:ZV.

Dorsal idiosoma ( Fig. 3A ) – Dorsal shield oval, slightly constricted at R 1 level, 425 long and 288 wide at j6 level, smooth with some striae anterolaterally; with 19 pairs of dorsal setae (r 3 and R 1 included); dorsal shield setae smooth, except for Z 4 and Z 5, slightly serrated; lengths: j 1 38, j 3 46, j 4 8, j 5 6–7, j 6 8, J 2 9, J 5 9, z 2 14, z 4 15, z 5 8, Z 1 13, Z 4 115, Z 5 263, s 4 101, S 2 11, S 4 11, S5 8; setae r 3 14 and R 1 10 on lateral integument; Z 4, Z 5 and s 4 are the longest, dorsal shield with 7 pairs of solenostomes (gd 1, gd 2, gd 4, gd 5, gd 6, gd 8, gd 9) and 11 pairs small poroids.

Peritreme – Extending almost beyond setae j 1 ( Fig. 3A ).

Ventral idiosoma ( Fig. 3B ) – Sternal shield slightly wider than long, posterior margin straight, smooth at the central area with a few lateral striae, 79 long, 87 wide at level of setae ST 2, three pairs of setae and two pairs of pores (iv 1 and iv 2), ST 1 41, ST 2 35, ST 3 33;distances between ST 1 –ST 3 76 and ST 1 –ST 1 71, ST 2 –ST 2 79; metasternal setae ST 4 33 and a pair of pores (iv 3) on small platelets; genital shield smooth width at widest point 82, ST 5 33; two pairs of metapodal shields, primary 26 long and accessory 17 long; ventrianal shield smooth vase-shaped ( Fig. 3B ), length 133, width at level of setae ZV 2, 68, and width at level of paranal setae 74; with three pairs of preanal setae (JV 1 27, JV 2 25, ZV 2 21); four pairs of setae surrounding ventrianal shield on integument (JV 4 11, JV 5 71, ZV 1 20, ZV 3 11), five pairs of pores surrounding ventrianal shield. Ventrianal shield with a pair of elliptical pores (gv 3) posteromesad to JV 2, distance between these pores 32.

Spermatheca – Calyx elongate 35 long, 4 in diameter at the middle part of the calyx; one-third of calyx wall toward vesicle much thinner than the rest; atrium relatively large and C-shaped ( Fig. 3D ).

Chelicera – Fixed digit 30 long with about 10 teeth and a pilus dentilis; movable digit 33 long with 4 teeth ( Fig. 3C ).

Legs – Leg IV ( Fig. 3E ) with three pointed macrosetae, SgeIV 111, StiIV 87, StIV 70; length of macrosetae on other legs: SgeI 44, SgeII 40, SgeIII 47; length of legs from the base of coxae to the tip of claws: leg I 311, leg II 233, leg III 256, leg IV 321; chaetotactic formulae of genua and tibiae I–II–III–IV with 10(2-2/1, 2/1-2) – 7(2- 2/0, 2/0-1) – 7(1-2/1, 2/0-1) – 7(1-2/0, 2/1-1) and 10(2- 2/1, 2/1-2) – 7(1-2/1, 1/1-1) – 7(1-1/1, 2/1-1) – 6(1-1/0, 2/1-1) setae respectively.

Distribution – Many tropical and subtropical countries (see Demite et al., 2021).

Specimen examined – One female, 12 November 2015, Phoenix sp. , in greenhouse, Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam , The Netherlands (52°22’00.4”N 4°54’25.8”E), collector: Farid Faraji.

Remarks – It seems that Amblyseius herbicolus has a well-established population in the greenhouse of Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam for generations. The features of the specimen found in The Netherlands fits well with the re-descriptions of this species. The spermatheca figures by Denmark & Muma (1989) and Zannou et al. (2007) show a uniform calyx wall while ours shows the part of calyx towards atrium thicker. The photograph by Ferragut et al. (2010) indicates that feature very well.

Figures

Figure 3.Amblyseius herbicolus (Chant) (Female):(A)Idiosoma,dorsal view;(B) Idiosoma,ventral view;(C) Chelicera;(D) Spermatheca; E – Leg IV.