Proprioseiopsis mexicanus (Garman)

Kreiter, Serge & Abo-Shnaf, Reham I. A., 2020, Phytoseiid mites of Rodrigues Island (Acari: Mesostigmata), Acarologia 60 (2), pp. 449-468 : 458-459

Proprioseiopsis mexicanus (Garman)

Amblyseiopsis mexicanus Garman 1958: 75 .

Proprioseiopsis mexicanus, Muma & Denmark 1970: 48 ; Denmark & Muma 1973: 237;

Moraes et al. 1986: 118, 2004: 181; Kreiter & Moraes 1997: 379; Chant & McMurtry 2005a: 13, 2007: 89.

Amblyseius mexicanus, Moraes & McMurtry 1983: 134 .

Proprioseiopsis tropicanus ( Garman 1958) : 77 (Synonymy according to Denmark & Evans 2011).

Proprioseiopsis asetus ( Chant 1959) : 80 (Synonymy according to Denmark & Evans 2011).

Proprioseiopsis putmani ( Chant 1959) : 91 (Synonymy according to Denmark & Evans 2011).

Proprioseiopsis clausae ( Muma 1962) : 20 (Synonymy according to Denmark & Evans 2011).

Proprioseiopsis temperellus ( Denmark & Muma 1967): 171 (Synonymy according to Denmark & Evans 2011).

Proprioseiopsis amotus ( Zack 1969) : 72 (Synonymy according to Denmark & Evans 2011).

Proprioseiopsis versutus ( Zack 1969) : 74 (Synonymy according to Denmark & Evans 2011).

Proprioseiopsis kogi ( Chant & Hansell 1971) : 713 (Synonymy according to Denmark & Evans 2011).

Proprioseiopsis tulearensis ( Blommers 1976) : 100 (Synonymy according to Denmark & Evans 2011).

This species belongs to the belizensis species group as genu I have no macrosetae. As the spermatheca of that species has a short calyx, cup-shaped, it belongs to the asetus species subgroup ( Chant and McMurtry 2005a).

This species is known from all Islands of French West Indies ( Kreiter and Moraes 1997; Moraes et al. 2000; Kreiter et al. 2006, 2018c; Mailloux et al. 2010), but it was found only in very large numbers during a previous study on companion plants in Guadeloupe ( Mailloux et al. 2010) and in a study on La Réunion (Le Bellec, unpub. data). This species seems to be very abundant on weeds in the lower vegetation. Phytoseiid mites of the genus Proprioseiopsis had been found mainly in ground surface, humus, litter, soil, moss or on grass ( Muma and Denmark 1970; McMurtry et al. 2015).

Proprioseiopsis mexicanus population increased when fed T. urticae eggs ( Megevand et al. 1993) and seems to be a good predator of thrips (Kreiter, unpub. data). It is one of the prevailing phytoseiid species on citrus orchards in Alabama ( Fadamiro et al. 2009). Denmark and Evans (2011) mentioned that the species can be reared on T. urticae and Oligonychus pratensis (Banks) and is associated with Bryobia praetiosa Koch , Bryobia spp. and P. ulmi . It was also found in association with Tetranychus evansi Baker and Pritchard ( Furtado et al. 2014 ), but mentioned as a poor predator of that species. The biology of this species is however almost unknown.

Proprioseiopsis mexicanus was already recorded in the Indian Ocean by Quilici et al. (2000) and Kreiter et al. (2020c).

World distribution: This species is distributed in many countries of the world, mainly in tropical areas.

Specimens examined: 2 ♀♀ in total. Citronelle, Plant Protection Service (388 m aasl, lat. 19°42 ′ 02 ″ S, long. 63°25 ′ 17 ″ E), 2 ♀♀ on Prunus persica (L.) Batsch ( Rosaceae ), 16/XI/2020.

Remarks: measurement values of female specimens from Rodrigues fit well with all those indicated in Kreiter et al. (2018c, 2020c) for various countries.