Amblyseius largoensis (Muma)

Kreiter, Serge & Abo-Shnaf, Reham I. A., 2020, New records of phytoseiid mites from Mauritius Island (Acari: Mesostigmata, Acarologia 60 (3), pp. 520-545 : 531-532

Amblyseius largoensis (Muma)

Amblyseiopsis largoensis Muma 1955: 266 .

Typhlodromus (Amblyseius) largoensis, Chant 1959: 96 .

Amblyseius (Amblyseialus) largoensis, Muma 1961: 287 .

Typhlodromus largoensis, Hirschmann 1962: 2 .

Amblyseius (Amblyseius) largoensis, Ehara 1966: 22 .

Amblyseius largoensis, Swirski & Golan 1967: 225 ; Moraes et al. 1986: 17, 2004: 33; Chant & McMurtry 2004: 208, 2007: 78.

Amblyseius magnolia Muma 1961: 289 (synonymy according to Denmark & Evans 2011).

Amblyseius sakalava Blommers 1976: 96 (synonymy according to Ueckermann & Loots 1988).

Amblyseius amtalaensis Gupta 1977: 53 (synonymy according to Gupta 1986).

This species belongs also to the largoensis species group and the largoensis species subgroup (see for the previous species).

It is widespread in all tropical and subtropical regions of the world and was the most abundant species collected by Moraes et al. (2000) in French Caribbean Islands and a potential BCA of Raoiella indica Hirst in La Réunion Island ( Moraes et al. 2012).

Using morphometric analyses of 36 characters, molecular analyses and crossing tests, Navia et al. (2014) studied specimens collected in Brazil, La Réunion Island and Trinidad and Tobago to determine whether A. largoensis populations from different geographic origins belong to the same taxonomic entity. Though differences in the lengths of some setae were observed, molecular analyses and crossing experiments indicated that populations from Indian Ocean and America were conspecific. Amblyseius largoensis was previously recorded from Mauritius by Ferragut and Baumann (2019) and so this is the second record of that species.

World distribution: this species is widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, America, Asia and the Pacific Islands.

Specimens examined: 7 ♀♀ in total. Pamplemousse, Botanical Garden (aasl 41 m, lat. 20°06 ′ 24 ″ S, long. 57°34 ′ 49 ″ E), 3 ♀♀ on Mangifera indica L. ( Anacardiaceae ), 3 ♀♀ on Psiadia viscosa (Asteraceae) and 1 ♀ on Hyophorbe lagenicaulis (L.H. Bailey) H.E. Moore (Arecaceae) , 3/XI/2018.

Remarks: morphological and morphometric characters and all measurements fit well values given by Zannou et al. (2007) for specimens from Africa, Navia et al. (2014) for specimens from Brazil, La Réunion and Trinidad and Tobago, and Ferragut and Baumann (2019) for specimens from Mauritius.