Aceria guerreronis Keifer (Acari: Eriophyidae) is a phytophagous mite that is one of the serious pests of coconut fruits worldwide. Chemical controls have been and continue to be the primary means of control. However, pesticide compatibility with natural enemies is a major concern for IPM systems. The aim of this study was to explore the contact toxicity and egg hatching inhibition of conidia suspension and crude ethyl acetate extract of Hirsutella thompsonii F.E. Fisher against adults and eggs of A. guerreronis. The results indicated that six isolates of H. thompsonii were evaluated for their pathogenicity against eggs and adults of the coconut mite (A. guerreronis), and H. thompsonii TBRC 6805 and TBRC 6933 resulted in the highest mortality (100%) on the 3^rd day post-inoculation (DPI). The crude ethyl acetate extracts 5% (w/v) of H. thompsonii isolates TBRC-BCC 13865 showed the highest mortality to eggs (92%) and adults (98%) of A. guerreronis Keifer, and the LC₅₀ value was 2.629% (eggs) and 1.704% (adults) after 72 h posttreatment. This study shows that H. thompsonii, a fungus well known for controlling biotic stress brought on by insect pests, can also have potential for the development of novel bioacaricides to control A. guerreronis in an integrated pest management program.

A new species of Cryptognathus, C. deliciosus sp. nov., is described from kiwifruit (Actinidiaceae: Actinidia deliciosa) imported from New Zealand on several occasions. The new species is most similar to C. australiensis Luxton, 1973, with which it shares very short dorsal setae. These collections represent two surprising findings. First, that Cryptognathidae, which are usually regarded as edaphic mites associated with damp habitats like moss, also occupy low arboreal habitats. Second, that these mites, which show potential for short-range endemism, include several species that could be spread around the world on agricultural produce.

Megalurothrips usitatus, is an important pest of cowpeas Vigna unguiculata, that causes severe damage to cowpea crops in Southeast Asia and Hainan Province in China. Neoseiulus newsami is a natural enemy of M. usitatus that was first reported from Ledong Li Autonomous County, Hainan, China. Here, we evaluated the potential of N. newsami as a biocontrol agent for use against M. usitatus. In laboratory tests, N. newsami showed a similar rate of attack on this pest as did the better-known species Neoseiulus barkeri. The functional response curve of N. newsami fed M. usitatus showed that more 1st instar prey were consumed by N. newsami at higher prey densities, indicating a Type III functional. The maximum attack coefficient (a) was 0.063 ± 0.011 and the handling time per consumed prey (T_h) was 0.58 ± 0.09. The maximum attack rate (T/T_h) was 41.37. Neoseiulus newsami showed higher predation and oviposition rates than did N. barkeri or Neoseiulus cucumeris. Our results suggest that N. newsami has a higher predation capacity against M. usitatus.

This paper deals with two new species of Torrenticolidae (Acari, Hydrachnidia) from Tibet, P. R. China, i.e., Torrenticola serratiextension Gu & Guo, sp. nov., Monatractides tuberocapitulum Gu & Guo, sp. nov. Meanwhile, the male of T. anziensis Gu & Guo, 2019 is reported for the first time. This is the first report of Torrenticolidae from Tibet, P. R. China.

Essential oils have demonstrated promising results in controlling mites. However, their impact on predatory mites, which are widely used in pest management programs, remains uncertain. In the present study, the effects of 1, 2 and 3 (g a.i. L^-1) of nano-capsulated Aleppo oak extraction on the biological parameters of Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot (Acari: Phytoseiidae) were investigated under laboratory condition. Based on the results, the pre-adult period of the predator was significantly longer in the 2 (g a.i. L^-1) concentration (6.66 days) compared with the control and the 1 (g a.i. L^-1) concentration. Additionally, the total lifespan in the control group (39.42 days) was significantly longer than the treatment with a 3 (g a.i. L^-1) concentration (31.50 days). The total fecundity in the 2 (g a.i. L^-1) concentration (47.60 eggs/female) was significantly higher than the other treatments, indicating a positive effect of this botanical pesticide at the concentration recommended by the manufacturer on the reproductive system of the predatory mite. No significant differences were observed among the different treatments and the control group in terms of population growth parameters (GRR, R₀, r, and λ). Only the mean generation time (T) showed a significant difference, with the longest period being recorded in the 2 (g a.i. L^-1) concentration (15.44 ± 0.21), which was significantly longer than the control and the 1 (g a.i. L^-1) concentration. The lack of significant differences in population growth parameters between the treatments indicates that nano-capsulated Aleppo oak extraction is safe for use along with the predatory mite A. swirskii.

The study reports four new records of phytoseiid mites from the Indian subcontinent. Detailed description of all the four species viz., Cydnoseius negevi (Swirski & Amitai), Gynaeseius liturivorus (Ehara), Okiseius subtropicus Ehara, and Phytoseius haroldi Ueckermann & Kreiter is provided in this paper along with illustrations and comparison of specimens collected in the present study with those of the previous reports.

A new species of the genus Agistemus Summers (Acari: Stigmaeidae), A. punctatus sp. nov. is hereby described and illustrated based on females, collected on Grewia sp. host plant in southwestern region (Jizan) of Saudi Arabia. Additionally, the identification key to known species of the genus is provided.

This study aims to determine the resistance ratios of Tetranychus urticae Koch red form (RF) and Tetranychus turkestani (Ugarov & Nikolskii) populations collected from cotton fields in Soke, Germencik, Kocarli and Nazilli districts of Aydin province to commonly used acaricides (abamectin, hexythiazox, etoxazole, spiromesifen). The potential role of detoxification enzymes (esterase, glutathione-s-transferase (GST), P450 monooxygenase (P450)) in acaricide resistance was also assessed. Overall populations of T. urticae RF presented varying ratios of resistance to these acaricides with all three populations (G15R21, K24R21, S3R21) showing significant resistance to abamectin (187.1–223.66 fold), hexythiazox (156.31–168.25 fold), etoxazole (409.58–517.20 fold) and spiromesifen (981.77–1246.11 fold). In contrast, all five T. turkestani populations (G4G21, K16G21, N1G21, N11G21, S19G21) were susceptible to abamectin, etoxazole, and spiromesifen, but exhibited some resistance to hexythiazox (164.34–182.39 fold). The resistance ratios of T. turkestani were however lower compared to T. urticae RF. A relationship was also found between detoxification enzymes and resistance. Esterase activity varied among mite populations, with the highest levels recorded in resistant populations of T. urticae (G15R21 and K24R219) with rates ranging between 6.48 and 7 mOD/min/mg protein. GST activity was highest in resistant mite populations (T. urticae S3R21 and T. turkestani K16G21). T. turkestani N11G21 population exhibited the highest P450 enzyme activity, reaching 4.39 RFU/30 min/mg protein. This study was the first to determine the resistance ratios of T. turkestani to hexythiazox in Türkiye, and on a global scale.

Two genera, Neotegonotus Newkirk & Keifer and Boczekiana Petanovic (Eriophyidae: Phyllocoptinae) are recorded for the first time from Saudi Arabia with two new species; N. saudiensis sp. nov. collected from Ficus carica L. (Moraceae) and B. bahahensis sp. nov. collected from Anthemis rascheyana Boiss (Asteraceae) described and illustrated based on females. Both species are vagrants on abaxial leaf surface causing no apparent damage to their host plants.

Larvae of Caeculisoma brazilensis Noei & Šundić sp. nov. (Trombidiformes: Erythraeidae) collected from Brazil, is described and illustrated. This is the second species of the genus from Brazil. A key to the larval species of Caeculisoma of the world is presented and the key to world genera of larval Callidosomatinae are amended. We suggest considering Iguatonia seemani Xu & Jin, 2020 as a junior synonym of Dambullaeus jianfengensis Xu & Jin, 2020.