Tetranychus evansi Baker & Pritchard, 1960

Naves, Pedro, Nóbrega, Filomena & Auger, Philippe, 2021, Updated and annotated review of Tetranychidae occurring in mainland Portugal, the Azores, and Madeira Archipelagos, Acarologia 61 (2), pp. 380-393 : 388

Tetranychus evansi Baker & Pritchard, 1960

The tomato spider mite, T. evansi , is an important pest of solanaceous crops and was detected in continental Portugal in 1991 (the first report in Europe), 60 km northeast of Lisbon and causing severe damage to tomato ( Ferreira and Carmona 1995). A few years later, it was again reported as a new addition to the Portuguese tetranychid fauna by Bolland and Vala (2000). The tomato spider mite is now widespread from Minho to the Algarve, being more frequent in the centre and south of the mainland except for mountainous interior regions where low temperatures during winter seem to limit its presence. It is also found on Madeira Island (Migeon et al. 2009; Ferreira and Sousa 2011). This polyphagous mite has been found locally, associated with 39 different plant species belonging to 14 families, in particular to Asteraceae and Solanaceae ( Ferreira and Sousa 2011) . Its most important local cultivated host is tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum ), on which severe damage was observed ( Carmona and Dias 1996). The widespread black nightshade, Solanum nigrum , is a common wild host for this mite ( Ferreira and Sousa 2011 ; Santos 2011), and many specimens collected from this plant are present in the INIAV acarological collection.