Neoseiulus baraki (Athias-Henriot)

Kreiter, Serge, Payet, Rose-My, Douin, Martial, Fontaine, Olivier, Jacques, Fillâtre & Bellec, Fabrice Le, 2020, Phytoseiidae of La Réunion Island (Acari: Mesostigmata): three new species and two males described, new synonymies, and new records, Acarologia 60 (1), pp. 111-195 : 116

Neoseiulus baraki (Athias-Henriot)

Amblyseius baraki Athias-Henriot 1966: 211 .

Amblyseius (Amblyseius) baraki, Ehara & Bhandhufalck 1977: 54 .

Amblyseius (Neoseiulus) baraki, Gupta 1986: 104 .

Neoseiulus baraki, Moraes et al. 1986: 70 ; Chant & McMurtry 2003a: 27; Moraes et al. 2004a: 149; 2004b: 104; Zannou et al. 2006: 248; Chant & McMurtry 2007: 25.

Amblyseius dhooriai Gupta 1977: 30 (synonymy according to Gupta 1986).

This species belongs to the paspalivorus species group of the genus Neoseiulus as the female ventrianal shield is large, rectangular, rounded posteriorly, and the dorsal shield has marked “shoulders” at the level of setae r3 ( Chant and McMurtry 2003a). Neoseiulus baraki is a Mediterranean and subtropical species often found on monocotyledonous plants, and mainly on Poaceae . It is also a predatory mite associated with the coconut mite Aceria guerreronis Keifer in many parts of the world ( Moraes et al. 2004b; Lawson-Balagbo et al. 2008). It is known to disperse from herbaceous weeds to the coconut “trees”. It has a flattened idiosoma with a small cross-sectional diameter ( Moraes et al. 2004b), which enables it to reach the area underneath leaf bracts where the coconut mite feeds. Moreover, it shows a strong temporal relationship with the abundance of the coconut mite on palms ( Fernando et al. 2003). Hence, N. baraki is considered a potential BCA against the coconut mite. However, in nature they are unable to maintain the coconut mite populations below the expected economic levels and so, additions of N. baraki to the environment to supplement natural populations for controlling the coconut mite has been considered. An essential pre-requisite to field augmentation is an effective mass rearing method. Use of coconut mites to mass rear N. baraki in the laboratory is expensive and time consuming. Eggs of Tetranychus urticae Koch , coconut pollen and maize pollen were found to be suitable alternative foods for rearing N. baraki but it can be more easily reared on Tyrophagus putrescentiae Shrank , which can be easily reared on cheap supports issued from agricultural products transformation.

This is the first mention of the occurrence of this species in La Réunion Island, the first mention in the Indian Ocean and the second mention from Sub-Saharan Africa sensu lato, in addition to Zannou et al. (2006).

Specimens examined: 16 ♀♀ + 8 ♂♂ in total, 12 ♀♀ + 5 ♂♂ measured. Saint-Pierre - Bassin-Plat CIRAD Research Station (altitude above sea level = aasl 153 m, Long 55°29’18” E, Lat 21°19’25” S), 2 ♀♀ + 1 ♂ on Melinis repens (Willd.) , 20/2/2017; 6 ♀♀ + 3 ♂♂ in CC (Cover crop), HM (Hammer Mill), and M (Mowing) and on Digitaria ramularis (Trin.) , 20/3 , 3 and 6/ 4 and 20/6/2017; 1 ♂ on Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) , 30/03/2017; 3 ♀♀ + 2 ♂ + 1 im. on Panicum maximum Jacq. , and 5 ♀♀ + 1 ♂ + 6 im. on Bidens pilosa L., 20/2, 30/ 3 and 20/6/2017.

Remarks: The measurements of characters of adult females ( Table 1 ) are similar to those published in the literature, especially with those from specimens of Tanzania, except for the number of teeth on fixed digits of chelicerae that is higher in specimens of Tanzania.

The measurements of adult males ( Table 1 ) are also close to those published, and closest to those obtained from specimens from Tanzania, except for the number of teeth (same remark for females).