Leonseius regularis (De Leon)

Cavalcante, Ana Cristina Cerqueira, Demite, Peterson Rodrigo, Lofego, Antônio Carlos & Hernandes, Fabio Akashi, 2021, Phytoseiidae (Acari: Mesostigmata) from the Atlantic Forest in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with complementary description of Amblyseius impeltatus Denmark & Muma, Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 61, pp. 1-7 : 5

Leonseius regularis (De Leon)

Material examined: Paraty: 3 females on P. americana , 20-IV-2007; 4 females on Cupania sp. , 27-VII-2008.

All species found here had previously been report- ed in the Atlantic Forest in South coast of SÃo Paulo State (Gondim-Jr. & Moraes, 2001; Moraes et al., 2013; Zacarias & Moraes, 2002), distant about 400 km from both areas sampled in this study.This suggests a similarity among phytoseiid mite communities from different areas of Atlantic Forest.

Two species found in this study, T. cananeiensis and P.marumbus , have been found only in the Atlantic Forest so far, suggesting they might be endemic to this biome. Others, like Amblyseius largoensis , Euseius alatus , Iphiseiodes zuluagai , and Proprioseiopsis dominigos , all reported herein, are also frequently registered in several agricultural crops in other localities and biomes in Brazil, indicating phytoseiids from the Atlantic Forest may also migrate to nearby crops and act as natural enemies of pest mites. This reinforces the idea of the native vegetation working as reservoirs of phytoseiids as suggested by previous authors ( Tixier et al., 2000; Demite & Feres, 2005, 2008; Lofego & Moraes, 2006; Castro & Moraes, 2007, 2010; Demite et al., 2013; Rezende et al., 2014). Phytoseiids have a major role in ecosystems, regulating phytophagous mite populations in natural environments and agroecosystems ( Demite et al., 2013; Lofego & Moraes, 2006). Surveying natural vegetation areas provides a clearer picture of the real diversity of these organisms, also contributing to understand the structure of mite communities and the species turnover between natural vegetation and adjacent crops.