Persian Journal of Acarology
Volume:8 Issue: 2, Spring 2019

Our precise observations on Laelaspisella elsae Joharchi, Babaeian & Jalalizand revealed the genus misidentification. We clarify the genus placement, transfer it to Reticulolaelaps Costa and redescribe it paying attention to some discrepancies in the original description. A new definition and diagnosis of Reticulolaelaps and a key for separation of all known species of this genus are proposed. New information on female morphological characters of Reticulolaelaps faini Costa, 1968 is presented, based on specimens collected from soil in Khuzestan and Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari provinces, Iran. Pseudoparasitus lativentris (Karg) and P. jilinensis Ma are transferred from this genus to Reticulolaelaps. A new definition of the genus Pseudoparasitus is proposed.

A molecular characterization based on mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene was used to genotype central-southern Iranian populations of Varroa destructor for the first time. A 570 bp segement was amplified by Polymerase Chain Reaction and digested with two restriction enzymes. Digestion of PCR products with XhoI produced fragments of 300 and 270 bp in all samples, whereas digestion with SacI did not produce any digested fragments. Results suggest that all samples belong to the K haplotype previously described for V. destructor in the literature. A total of 22 sequences of Iranian samples (418bp) were registered for the first time in NCBI.

The generic diagnosis of Bursaustium Haitlinger, 2000 is modified and Bursaustium zabolensis Noei sp. nov. (Acari: Trombidiformes: Erythraeidae) collected from soil samples (off host) under tamarisk trees in Zabol city, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran, is described. It is the third known species of the genus and second species of this genus from Iran. A key to species of Bursaustium (larva) is also provided.

One new species of eriophyoid mite, Notallus phlomicosae Lotfollahi & Bahirai sp. nov., associated with Phlomis fruticosa L. (Lamiaceae) is described and illustrated from Lorestan province of Iran. It is the first record of a Notallus species on plants of Lamiaceae. In addition, a key to the known Notallus mite species worldwide, table of morphological comparison among them and figures of their prodorsal shield patterns are provided.

The walnut leaf gall mite (Aceria tristriatus) is one of the major pests of walnut in western Iran. Therefore, a study to determine the predatory mites associated with this pest in Hamedan and Lorestan provinces was carried out during 2014–2017. In this survey, totally 10 species belong to six genera and three different families including Phytoseiidae: Kuzinellus kuzini Wainstein, Typhlodromus bagdasarjani Wainstein & Arutunjan, Typhlodromus khosrovensis Arutunjan, Euseius finlandicus Oudemans; Iolinidae: Neopronematus iranensis Ahmad-Hosseini et al., Neopronematus solani Ripka et al., Pronematus rykei Meyer & Rodrigues; Tydeidae: Tydeus caryae Khanjani & Ueckermann, Tydeus goetzi Schruft, and Tydeus electus Kuznetzov were collected and identified. Kuzinellus kuzini Wainstein had the highest frequency and distribution in this survey. Among the collected species, Typhlodromus khosrovensis, Typhlodromus bagdasarjani, E. finlandicus, N. solani, Tydeus caryae, Tydeus goetzi and Tydeus electus are re-described in the present paper. Tydeus goetzi and Neopronematus solani are reported for the first time for Hamedan and Lorestan provinces.

Oribatid mites are one of the dominant soil microarthropods. These mites have an important role in increasing soil fertility through organic materials decomposition. Oribatid mite communities (Acari: Oribatida) were investigated in orchards of five regions (Ahar, Kaleibar, Varzaghan, Heris and Horand) in East Azerbaijan province, Iran. The oribatid mites were studied in each orchard (apple orchards with size of approximately 0.4 ha were selected) by collecting 12 samples taken from a maximum depth of 20 cm. Sampling was performed for six months in 2015. The oribatid species diversity (Shannon-Wiener index), Species richness (Rarefaction and Jackknife methods), Evenness by Shannon's index and similarity (Sorensen index) were calculated with Ecological Methodology 6.0 software for all the regions. A total of 75 species belonging to 57 genera and 38 families of oribatid mites were collected and identified. The highest number of species (54 spp.) was found in the orchards of Kaleibar, while the studied orchards of Varzaghan had the lowest number of species (21 spp.). One–way ANOVA analysis showed that the Shannon–Wiener species diversity was highest in Kaleibar (H = 3.409) and Ahar (H = 3.419). Also, Kaleibar and Ahar had the highest species richness (Kaleibar: 79.8 species, Ahar: 70.7 species). Among studied regions, Kaleibar and Ahar had the highest species richness and species diversity but Varzaghan showed the lowest values, apparently because of geographical and climate differences between these regions.

Specimens of Eutetranychus palmatus were collected from leaves of date palm, Phoenix dactylifera L. and Phoenix roebelinii (Arecaceae) in Latakia city, Syria. This is the first record of E. palmatus from Syria. Taxonomic remarks of males and females are provided

In this study, the genus Plegadognathus Morselli, 1981 with the species P. bonariensis. Viets, 1936) is recorded from Qatar for the first time. Diagnoses for the genus Plegadognathus and the short description of female of P. bonariensis are given with original illustrations.

The species Olopachys (Olopachys) hallidayi was collected from orchards from Maragheh and adjacent villages, East Azerbaijan Province, using Berlese-Tullgren funnel during the autumn 2016. The specimens were cleared in Nesbitt's fluid, then mounted on microscope slides using Hoyer's medium, and finally dried in an oven at 45–50 °C for 3–4 weeks. The Iranian specimens of Olopachys hallidayi are very similar to the Turkish ones according to the morphometric characteristics and the original description prepared by Özbek (2014), but they have wide ranges for some characteristics. The Iranian specimens were larger than the Turkish ones in length and width of dorsal shield, although the ratio was smaller in the Iranian specimens [740−875 long, 480−580 wide, the ratio: 1.47−1.54 in the Iranian specimens; 700−780 long, 430−470 wide, the ratio: 1.54−1.69 in the Turkish specimens (Özbek 2014)].

Herein, historical collection of ticks (Acari: Argasidae), which were collected by E. Pavlovsky of parasitological expeditions to Central Asia (1934-1955), are reported.