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Mites of the family Tarsonemidae (Acari: Prostigmata) exhibit a great diversity of feeding habits including fungivorous, algivorous, plant feeders, and predatory of other mites, as parasitoids and parasites are kinds of symbionts of other insects. They also have a considerable diversity of morphological structures, including the shape and structure of the mouthparts and specialized tactile organs, particularly the setae on the body and legs. The Atlantic Forest remnant is considered to be a very diverse tropical biota. Samples were collected on Theobroma cacao and Artocarpus heterophyllus trees in cabruca agroforest systems located in Ilhéus, Bahia State, Brazil. A new species, Excelsotarsonemus cabrucae Sousa, Lofego & Ochoa, sp. n. is described and illustrated. Six Daidalotarsonemus and three Excelsotarsonemus species were identified in the same area. A key to the species of Daidalotarsonemus of Brazil and a key to the species of Excelsotarsonemus of the world are presented. The findings emphasize the importance of conducting mite surveys in rainforests to better understand the mite diversity which inhabits this biome. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:15D43DCE-E281-456F-B218-6F0947B6EA04

The coconut mite, Aceria guerreronis Keifer (Acari: Eriophyidae), is one of the main coconut pests in the American, African and parts of the Asian continents, reaching densities of several thousand mites per fruit. Diagrammatic scales have been developed to standardize the estimation of the population densities of A. guerreronis according to the estimated percentage of damage, but these have not taken into account the possible effect of fruit age, although previous studies have already reported the variation in mite numbers with fruit age. The objective of this study was to re-construct the relation between damage and mite density at different fruit ages collected in an urban coconut plantation containing the green dwarf variety ranging from the beginning to nearly the end of the infestation, as regularly seen under field conditions in northeast Brazil, in order to improve future estimates with diagrammatic scales. The percentage of damage was estimated with two diagrammatic scales on a total of 470 fruits from 1 to 5 months old, from a field at Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil, determining the respective number of mites on each fruit. The results suggested that in estimates with diagrammatic scales: (1) fruit age has a major effect on the estimation of A. guerreronis densities, (2) fruits of different ages should be analyzed separately, and (3) regular evaluation of infestation levels should be done preferably on fruits of about 3-4 months old, which show the highest densities.

The family Tarsonemidae (Acari: Prostigmata) exhibits a high diversity of feeding habits and morphological structures, which allow them to be successful in many habitats. In Costa Rica, the Mesoamerican forest is a biome that includes all tropical and subtropical natural plant formations with high biodiversity. In Brazil, Theobroma cacao L. (Malvaceae) is cultivated under the canopies of larger trees, in a shaded plantation system called cabruca. Two new Metatarsonemus species are described from Brazilian cabruca agroforest. New records for the genus from Mesoamerica, Atlantic Forest and cabruca agroforest are presented. A key to the species of Metatarsonemus of the world is included.

The Tarsonemidae (Acari: Prostigmata) exhibit a high diversity of feeding habits and morphological structures, which allow them to live in a diversity of habitats. Tarsonemus is the largest genus, with more than 280 described species belonging to three subgenera: Tarsonemus sensu stricto, Chaetotarsonemus and Schaarschmidtia. Eight species of the genus have been reported from Brazil. In addition, there are two new species, Tarsonemus cacao sp. nov. from Theobroma cacao L. (Malvaceae) branches, and Tarsonemus bahiensis sp. nov. from Passiflora foetida L. (Passifloraceae) and Etlingera elatior Jack (Zingiberaceae) leaves. Both new species were collected in a cabruca agroforest, a traditional cacao cultivation system in the southern coast region of Bahia state. The new Tarsonemidae are described and illustrated here. Pharyngeal and gnathosomal structures of the new species are compared to other Tarsonemus species.