Paraphytoseius orientalis (Narayanan, Kaur & Ghai)

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 : 135

Paraphytoseius orientalis (Narayanan, Kaur & Ghai)

Typhlodromus (Amblyseius) orientalis Narayanan, Kaur & Ghai 1960: 394 .

Paraphytoseius orientalis, Moraes et al. 1986: 105 ; Chant & McMurtry 2003b: 220; Moraes et al. 2004a: 162, Chant & McMurtry 2007: 53.

Amblyseius ipomeai, Narayanan, Kaur & Ghai 1960: 394 (synonymy according to El-Banhawy 1984); Paraphytoseius narayanani, Ehara 1967: 67 (synonymy according to Ehara & Ghai, in Ehara 1967: 77); Paraphytoseius multidentatus, Swirski & Shechter 1961: 114 (synonymy according to Matthysse & Denmark 1981 in Denmark et al. 1999: 11).

As mentioned earlier, in our specimens of Paraphytoseius spp., setae S5 are absent, all our specimens belong to the orientalis species group ( Chant and McMurtry 2003b) and we consider that P. horrifer and P. orientalis are distinct, valid species.

Our specimens with shorter s4, Z4 and Z5 setae, having a distinctly short, thick, spatulate macroseta on genu I belong to P. orientalis .

This species is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical areas in South America, Africa and Asia. This species belongs to a genus included in the large polyphagous generalist group named type III phytoseiid mites ( McMurtry and Croft 1997; McMurtry et al. 2013). Navasero and Navasero (2016) have studied the life history of P. orientalis on the broad mite ( P. latus ) as prey. The authors reported high predation rates on the eggs of P. latus , suggesting good potential for the control of this pest. Quilici et al. (2000) have collected before this species in La Réunion but provided no measurements. We herein provide measurements of specimens collected in La Réunion ( Table 12 ).

Specimens examined: 20 ♀♀ + 1 ♂ + 1 im. in total, 5 ♀♀ + 1 ♂ measured. Saint-Pierre – Bassin Martin, Armefhor Station (aasl 450 m, Long 55°31’9” E, Lat 21°18’14” S), 8 ♀♀ + 1 ♂ on Borago officinalis L., 17/12/2015; Saint-Pierre – Bassin-Plat CIRAD Research Station (aasl 153 m, Long 55°29’18” E, Lat 21°19’25” S), 4 ♀♀ + 1 im. in plot BM, 2 ♀♀ in plot F, and 2 ♀♀ in plot H, 23/8/2016; 1 ♀ on M. coromandelianum , 19/6/2017; 1 ♀ on A. viridis , 20/6/2017; Ravine Langevin – Grand-Galet Waterfall (aasl 850 m, Long 55°21’33” E, Lat 21°17’47” S), 2 ♀♀ on D. incanum , 11/12/2016.

Remarks: measurements of morphological characters of La Réunion female and male specimens ( Table 12 ) agree well with measurements of specimens from other countries found in the literature.