Australian species of Lasioseius (Acari: Mesostigmata: Ascidae): the porulosus group and other species from rainforest canopies

Abstract

Approximately 100 species of Lasioseius have been described worldwide, yet only two species have been reported from Australia (L. boomsmai Womersley and L. queenslandicus Womersley). We recently identified both of these species from rainforest canopy chemical knockdown collections and reared them from fungal sporocarps growing on dead trees and logs. We also found that species in the Lasioseius porulosus group, previously unreported from Australia, are often the most numerous predatory mites on the leaves of tropical rainforest trees and of tropical tree crops in Queensland. Herein, we provide new collection records, diagnoses and biological information for the two previously known Australian species of Lasioseius; review the Australian members of the porulosus group; describe five new species (Lasioseius cuppa, L. quandong, L. traveni, L. wondjina and L. zaluckii); and present a key to the species of Lasioseius that inhabit rainforest leaves. One of the previous records of L. queenslandicus is shown to represent a pantropical tramp species, L. subterraneus Chant (newly reported from Australia), and L. athiasae Nawar & Nasr is shown to be a junior synonym of L. queenslandicus. Gnorimus Chaudri, 1975, Indiraseius Dansehvar, 1987, and Neolaspina Halliday, 1995, are shown to be synonyms of Lasioseius.

Phylogenetic relationships within the suborder Dermanyssina (Acari: Parasitiformes) and a test of dermanyssoid monophyly

“…Ascoidea, represented by three families in this study, Ameroseiidae, Ascidae and Melicharidae (clade E exclusive of clade G), are all thought to possess the laelapid-type sperm access system while Phytoseioidea (clades F and G), including Phytoseiidae, Podocinidae, and Blattisociidae possess the phytoseid-type system (Athias-Henriot, 1968;Amano and Chant, 1978;Evans, 1992;Walter and Lindquist, 1997). The small sample of ascoids and phytoseioids included in the molecular analysis support the sister group relationship of Phytoseiidae and Blattisociidae (clade F) recently proposed by Lindquist et al (2009), but does not include Podocinidae (clade F) within Phytoseioidea.…”

How promising is Lasioseius floridensis as a control agent of Polyphagotarsonemus latus?

“…With over 150 described species (Christian and Karg 2006), Lasioseius is the most morphologically diverse genus of Blattisociidae, a group raised to the family level by Lindquist et al (2009), whose members were formerly included by Lindquist and Evans (1965) in the Ascidae. Species of this genus have been reported from different parts of the world in a variety of habitats, including soil, litter, tree bark, fungi, mushroom beds, aerial plant parts and in association with insects and vertebrates (Walter and Lindquist 1997). The potencial of Lasioseius as biological control agents of pest species has been reported in the literature (Gerson et al 2003).…”

Mites on Plants

“…Blattisociidae, Ologamasidae, Uropodidae) begin appearing in the phylloplane fauna (Walter et al 1994 ;Walter and Proctor 1998 ). For example, in tropical Australia species in the Lasioseius porulosus group and the Asca foliata group (both Ascidae) are often more abundant on leaves than phytoseiid mites (Walter et al , 1994Walter and Lindquist 1997 ).…”