Amblyseius rykei Pritchard & Baker

El-Banhawy, E. M. & Knapp, M., 2011, Mites of the family Phytoseiidae Berlese from Kenya (Acari: Mesostigmata) 2945, Zootaxa 2945 (1), pp. 1-176 : 28

Amblyseius rykei Pritchard & Baker

( Fig. 38 )

Ambyleius (Amblyseius) rykei Pritchard & Baker, 1962: 249 .

Material examined. Kenya, 1 female, Taita Hills , altitude 1600 m, July 1, 2006 (El-Banhawy) .

Female: Dorsal shield smooth, 310 long, 175 wide. Measurements of dorsal setae: j1 25, j3 30, j4, j5, j6, J2, J5 4–6, z2, z4 9, z5, Z1 6, Z4 90, Z5 110, s4 80, S2, S4, S5 5 –6, r3 14, R1 12, JV5 53. Setae Z 4, Z5 serrated, remaining setae smooth. Peritrematal shield fused anteriorly with dorsal shield, reaching level of j1. Sternal shield smooth, distances between St I-St III 62 , St II-St 62, St IV on small platelets. Genital shield 70 wide. Ventri-anal shield pentagonal, 100 long, 80 wide across level of ZV2, 65 wide across level of anus, with a pair of small preanal pores adjacent to JV2 and three pairs of pre-anal setae (JV1, JV2, ZV2). Two pairs of metapodal platelets, two pairs of sigillar sclerites and four pairs of setae surrounding ventri-anal shield. Fixed digit of chelicera with ten teeth, movable digit with three teeth. Spermatheca calyx bell-shaped, 10 long, atrium nodular, 2 long, major duct long and slender. Macrosetae, Sge II 28 , Sge III 25 , Sti III 20 , Sge IV 70 , Sti IV 58 , St IV 72 . Chaetotaxy : genu II 2 , 2 / 0, 2/0, 1, genu III 1 , 2 /1, 2/0, 1.

Remarks. The female holotype was collected from Lake Edward, DRC, May 1955, E. W. Baker ( Pritchard & Baker, 1962). The male is unknown. This species is different from the closely related species A. swirskii Athias- Henriot. Seta j3 is shorter, Z4, s4, are longer than in A. swirskii , the calyx of spermatheca is bell-shaped, not short cup shaped, and the pre-anal pores are small and adjacent to ZV2 rather than large elliptical and close to each other in A. swirskii .

Figures

FIGURE 38. Amblyseius rykei Pritchard & Baker (Female). A. Dorsal shield; B. Ventral shields; C. Chelicera; D. Spermatheca; E. Genu II; F. Leg III; G. Leg IV.