A New Species of Manure-Inhabiting Mite in the Genus Poecilochirus (Acari: Mesostigmata: Parasitidae) Predacious on House Fly Eggs and Larvae

Abstract

Poecilochirus monospinosus Wise, Hennessey & Axtell, new species, is described from specimens collected and reared from poultry manure from Chatham and Wake Counties,. N.C. The larva, protonymph, deutonymph, and adult stages are described and figured. Data are given on the duration of the life stages, fecundity, and rates of predation by deutonymphs and adult females on house fly (Musca domestica L.) eggs and first instars at 26.6°C. Keys are given to the deutonymphs, females, and males of the described species of the genus Poecilochirus of the world.

Mesostigmata as Biological Control Agents, with Emphasis on Rhodacaroidea and Parasitoidea

“…Predation on different fl y larvae ( Fig. 1.4 ) is reported for several parasitids, including Parasitus bituberosus Karg (Karg 1972 ;Al-Amidi and Downes 1990 ), Parasitus coleoptratorum (L.) (Axtell 1986 ), Parasitus gregarius Ito (Ito 1977 ) and Poecilochirus monospinosus Wise, Henessey and Axtell (Axtell 1986 ;Axtell and Rutz 1986 ;Wise et al 1988 ).…”

“…Rapp ( 1959 ) cited the crucial importance of the presence of manure in the rearing chamber for the development of deutonymphs of P. coleoptratorum . Wise et al ( 1988 ) observed that survivorship and molting of deutonymphs of P. monospinosus to adults were greatly improved in the presence of fresh chicken manure.…”

“…Ito ( 1977 ) observed that adults of P. gregarius preferred feeding on house fl y larvae over eggs, and deutonymphs preferred nematodes over house fl y eggs and larvae. Axtell ( 1986 ) and Axtell and Rutz ( 1986 ) mentioned that the deutonymphs and adults of P. monospinosus (referred by the authors as an undescribed species of Poecilochirus , according to Wise et al 1988 ) fed on house fl y eggs and fi rst instar larvae, with a preference for the latter.…”

Mite infection of Carabus violaceus in rural forest patches and urban parks

“…The adult forms of these mites are free-living predators and feed mainly on fly eggs and first instar larvae. The female of M. glaber and P. carabi can destroy more than 13-18 fly eggs a day (14,19). There are only a few published data about the potential prey abundance (20).…”

Pezothrips kellyanus (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), nueva plaga en cítricos; comportamiento de sus poblaciones, muestreo y enemigos naturales

“…Different species of the family Parasitidae have been reported to prey on house fly (Musca domestica L.) eggs, free-living nematodes (Rhabditella sp.) and on other mites (Wise et al, 1988;Lesna et al, 1995). The second most abundant species, G. aculeifer, is a well-known predator of various pests such as the worldwide invasive thrips F. occidentalis (Glockemann, 1992;Thoeming and Poehling, 2006).…”