Prey are very important for the mass rearing of natural enemies and can affect the efficiency and quality of natural enemy products. Locomotion is important in dispersal of predatory mites on plants, and such activity is affected by body size and prey availability. The study evaluates the effects of prey (alternative prey: Tyrophagus putrescentiae Schrank and natural prey: Tetranychus turkestani Ugarov & Nikolskii) on the body size, locomotion and dispersal of the predatory mite Neoseiulus bicaudus Wainstein. When fed the alternative prey, the body size and locomotion of N. bicaudus were significantly lower than when fed the natural prey. However, the dispersal of N. bicaudus fed the two prey types was similar. The results suggest that long-term feeding on alternative prey could decrease the body size and locomotion of N. bicaudus. Nevertheless, the negative effects of alternative prey did not appear to affect the dispersal of N. bicaudus. The likely reason is that the type of prey does not affect the ability of the predatory mite to locate spider mites. In other words, when it fed alternative prey, N. bicaudus could still successfully disperse and locate spider mite-infested plants in the same way as when fed the natural prey.

A new OodinychusBerlese, 1917 species, O. scolytanasp. nov., was discovered and described from the galleries of bark beetles Polygraphus proximus Blandford from two different parts of Asian Russia. New associations are given for the trematurid mites and bark beetle species. Three bark beetle associated species from the Trichouropoda ovalis-group are moved into the genus Oodinychus as O. hirsuta (Hirschmann, 1972) comb. nov., O. rafalski (Wiśniewski & Hirschmann, 1984) comb. nov. and O. wilkinsoni (Hirschmann &Wiśniewski, 1986) comb. nov. Also, Oodinychus egypticusAbo-Shnaf, El-Bishlawy & Allam, 2018 is transferred to the genus NenteriaOudemans, 1915.

All active stages of a new species, Tanytydeus theronisp. nov., are described from nests of the termite Trinervitermes trinervoides (Sjöstedt, 1911) (Isoptera: Termitidae) from South Africa. A key to Tanytydeus of the world is provided. The unusual morphological characters of the new species are discussed.

Herbivores' host plant resistance may also affect performance of their predators. The effect of susceptible (‘Yellow') and resistant (‘Roulette') rose cultivars on demographic parameters of the two-spotted spider mite (TSSM), Tetranychus urticae Koch and its predators Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot and Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot (Acari: Phytoseiidae) was determined under laboratory conditions. The obtained data were analyzed using the two-sex life table theory. The development rate of different life stages of TSSM and its predators on the susceptible and resistant rose cultivars were significantly different. Total development time of juvenile stages of TSSM and A. swirskii on the resistant cultivar was longer than that on the susceptible one, although no significant differences were obtained in the case of P. persimilis. By using the two-sex life table, the intrinsic rate of increase (r) of TSSM on the susceptible and resistant cultivars was 0.205 and 0.143 day^-1, respectively. In addition, the net reproductive rate (R₀) of TSSM on the susceptible and resistant cultivars was 26.46 and 11.47 eggs per individual, respectively; however, the mean generation time (T) of TSSM on these cultivars was 15.92 and 16.92 days, respectively. Furthermore, the value of the intrinsic rate of increase (r) in P. persimilis on the susceptible and resistant cultivars was 0.217 versus 0.163 day^-1as well as in A. swirskii on the mentioned cultivars was 0.147 versus 0.117 day^-1, respectively. There was no significant difference between the values of the net reproductive rate (R₀) in P. persimilis on the susceptible and resistant rose cultivars, but in A. swirskii the value of this parameter on the susceptible cultivar was significantly higher than that on the resistant one. The mean generation time (T) in both predators on the resistant cultivar was longer than the susceptible one. In conclusion, resistance of the rose cultivar negatively affected the population growth parameters of TSSM and its both predators.

New records and supplementary morphological descriptions of two rarely encountered Trisetacus species from Pinaceae, T. abietisPostner 1968 and T. cedri (Nalepa 1920), are reported. Trisetacus abietis was found in Abkhazia under the needle epidermis of Abies nordmanniana (Steven) Spach, a conifer endemic to the mountainous Asian coast of the Black Sea. Trisetacus cedri was found in buds of introduced Cedrus deodara (Roxb. ex D. Don) G. Don in Abkhazia and South Africa. It is the only member of Trisetacus known from Cedrus spp. For the first time we provide sequences of two genes (COI and D1–D2 28S) of T. abietis (MN022221, MN025333) and T. cedri (MN022222, MN022223, MN025334, MN025335), along with microphotographs of the damage caused by these mites on their coniferous hosts. Sequences of D1–D2 28S of T. cedri from Abkhazian and South African populations are identical; COI sequences from different populations differ by only one synonymous substitution in a codon for asparagine. Females of T. abietis have long asymmetrical 8/7-rayed empodia, whereas males have shorter symmetrical 6/6-rayed empodia and shorter solenidia ω I. Similar sexual dimorphism in tarsal appendages was previously reported in Novophytoptus, representing an endoparasitic lineage of phytoptids on monocots. In T. cedri, a “long form” and a “short form” of both males and females were detected, suggesting a complex life cycle in this species. The evolution of Trisetacus is discussed within the broader context of the molecular phylogenies of Pinaceae and Eriophyoidea, including estimations of divergence times.

Predatory mites belonging to family Phytoseiidae (Acari: Mesostigmata) have received great attention. The subgenus Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) De Leon is one of the largest and complicated group in the family Phytoseiidae. There are 11 species of Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) reported in Taiwan so far and eight of them described by Y.H. Tseng. In addition, all specimens including types are lost after his retirement. The undetailed descriptions and the simple illustrations caused some difficulties in proper identifications of Taiwanese species. In this study, six species previously described from Taiwan that follows T. (A.) changi, T. (A.) gracilentus, T. (A.) lanyuensis, and T. (A.) neocrassus, T. (A.) obesus, T. (A.) tridentiger, are re-discovered. In addition, three species, T. (A.) bambusae, T. (A.) chinensis, and T. (A.) serrulatus are reported for the first time for Taiwanese fauna. We also provided the first description of male T. (A.) bambusae. Detailed descriptions of all species and a revised key to the Taiwanese species of the subgenus Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) are also included.

Herein, two new species of the family Cryptognathidae: Cryptognathus khaustovisp. nov., collected from soil in Urmia and Favognathus kazemiisp. nov., collected from soil and litter in Mahabad, are described from north-western Iran. Also, Cryptognathus ayyldiziAkyol & Koç, 2010 is reported for the first time from Iran.

This work includes taxonomic and faunistic data on oribatid mites (Oribatida) of the superfamily Galumnoidea which were collected in Malaysia. Two new species are described. Galumna perakensissp. nov. differs from Galumna alata, G. cavernalis and G. tokyoensis by the costate prodorsum and reticulate pteromorphs. Pergalumna titiwangsaensissp. nov. differs from Pergalumna paraindistincta by the pointed rostrum and relatively long anal setae. Five species (Allogalumna dilatata, A. indonesiensis, Carinogalumna philippinensis, Galumna granalata, Pergalumna paraindistincta), one subgenus (Flagellozetes (Cosmogalumna)) and one genus (Carinogalumna) are recorded in Malaysia for the first time.

The red tomato spider mite, Tetranychus evansi Baker & Pritchard, is a newly emerged and globally invasive pest of solanaceous plants. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of T. evansi was sequenced using Illumina Hiseq technology. The complete mitochondrial genome of T. evansi is a typical circular DNA with a length of 13,064 bp, which contains 37 genes arranged in consistent with the typical metazoan mitochondrial genomes. Highly truncated mitochondrial tRNAs were observed, with 18 of the 22 tRNAs appearing to lack the D- or T- arms or both. A preliminary phylogenetic analysis showed that mitochondrial genome can significantly improve the reliability of phylogenetic inference relative to short sequences, as indicated by the elevated bootstrap values. This mitochondrial genome provides a valuable source for the future phylogenetic analyses and helps clear the introduction origins of the Chinese T. evansi populations.

The African oil palm, Elaeis guineensis Jacq., is the second oil producing plant most extensively cultivated worldwide. The American oil palm, Elaeis oleifera (Kunth) Cortés, is a similar species rarely planted for commercial oil production, but often used for the production of hybrids with the African oil palm. The objective of this work was to compare the mite fauna of different genotypes of the African and the American oil palms as well as of their hybrids. In total, three and five genotypes of the African and the American oil palms and two of their hybrids available at an experiment station in the central part of the Brazilian Amazonia (Campo Experimental Rio Urubu, Embrapa Amazônia Ocidental, Rio Preto da Eva, Amazonas State) were evaluated. Samples were collected in the wet (May 2012) and the dry (October, November 2013) seasons. On American oil palms, mite density was much higher in the wet than in the dry season, while on palms of other groups no significant differences were observed between seasons. Phytophagous mites corresponded to 91.1% of all mites found and Eriophyoidea was by far the most abundant group of these mites. Plant damage by this and other mite groups was not noticed. Mites of the family Tenuipalpidae, to which Raoiella indica Hirst belongs, were not found in this study. In previous studies, R. indica was reported to cause severe damage to several plant species. Phytoseiid species richness and diversities were also higher in the American oil palms than on palms of other groups. The phytoseiids Amblyseius perditus Chant & Baker and Iphiseiodes kamahorae De Leon were the most abundant predators, the first almost exclusively on BR 174 and Coari, and the second, on Manicoré genotypes of the American oil palms. Phytoseiid diversity on hybrids was as low as on African oil palm genotypes in the dry season and lower than on other palm groups in the wet season.

A new species of the genus Brevinychus, B. isosetaesp.nov. is described and illustrated based on females and males collected from the leaves of Holocalyx balensae (Fabaceae, Casesalpinioidea) in Piracicaba, SP, Brazil.

Tetranychus urticae is the most important pest on different crops worldwide. Search for endemic phytoseiid mites co-occurring with the above pest, which might be good candidates as biocontrol agents, represents the policy followed by most scientists in recent years. The aim of the present work was to assess the various biological and demographic parameters of Neoseiulus longilaterus, associated with T. urticae on weeds, in laboratory conditions using the latter tetranychid and pollen of Oxalis pes-caprae as food. The results showed a better performance of the predator on the prey as regards the postembryonic development (7.63 and 8.18 days for prey and pollen respectively) and the demographic parameters (r_m 0.158 and 0.102, Ro 26.89 and 18.76, DT 4.39 and 6.78 for T. urticae and Oxalis respectively). Our data shows that N. longilaterus have similar traits with some phytoseiid species belonging to type II selective predators, but also with some others included within type III generalist predators. As a matter of fact, it can be considered an interesting biocontrol agent towards T. urticae, able also to develop on alternative foods as the pollen of Oxalis.

During the study of eriophyoid mite fauna of Sari county in Mazandaran province, north of Iran, two new species were identified, described and illustrated: Eriophyes parrotiae sp. nov. from Parrotia persica C.A.Mey, (Hamamelidaceae) and Tetra hyrcanica sp. nov. from Pterocarya fraxinifolia (Poir.) Spach (Juglandaceae). A list of eriophyoid mite species collected on Hamamelidaceae plants worldwide and Tetra species recorded from Iran, their type host, type locality and habitus are provided. In addition, the identification key for species collected on Hamamelidaceae and a key for identification of Tetra species from Iran is brought.

The present study is based on oribatid mite material (Acari, Oribatida) collected from nests of the termite Trinervitermes trinervoides (Sjöstedt, 1911) (Isoptera, Termitidae) of the Faan Meintjes Nature Reserve in South Africa. A list of identified taxa, including nine species, eight genera and seven families, is presented. One new species is described; Saltatrichus louiseaesp. nov. (Zetomotrichidae) differs from all species of the genus by the long, thick interlamellar setae and setiform setae ft″ on leg tarsi IV. Bipassalozetes bidactylus (Coggi, 1900) is recorded in the fauna of South Africa for the first time. The five species with the highest abundance and occurrence in nests were Coetzeella navalensis Ermilov, Hugo-Coetzee & Khaustov, 2017, B. bidactylus, S. louiseaesp. nov., Ausoribula bloemfonteinensis Ermilov, Hugo-Coetzee & Khaustov, 2017 and Transoribates agricola (Nakamura & Aoki, 1989). Remarks on variations of B. bidactylus and C. navalensis are given.

Quill mites (Acariformes: Prostigmata: Syringophilidae) parasitizing waxbills of genus Estrilda Swainson (Aves: Passeriformes: Estrildidae) from the Sub-Saharan region are studied for the first time. Among them, a new species, Syringophiloidus estrildus sp. nov., is described and new host species for Neosyringophilopsis lonchurusSkoracki, 2008, Neoaulonastus oryzivorus (Skoracki, 2011) comb. nov., and Picobia lonchuraeSkoracki et al., 2016 are recorded. In our study, we examined 120 specimens belonging to seven of the 16 (44%) species of the genus Estrilda. The prevalence of infestation by syringophilid species varied from 3.7 to 25%. The host and habitat (feather type) specificity are discussed.