The Varroa destructor is an ectoparasitic mite and the most serious biotic threat to honey bee and apiculture worldwide. Genetic types of V. destructor determine its ability of transmission and pathogenicity. Population genetics tools could supply useful information for comprehensive management of the mite. In this study, transcriptome information of V. destructor was analyzed for mining more polymorphic microsatellite markers for the population genetics investigation with further experimental verified. A total of 83,711 unigenes were assembled with the N50 length of 1,826 bp and the GC content of 40.03%. A total of 27,775 potential microsatellite loci were identified in 18,563 unigenes. The di-nucleotide and mono-nucleotide were most abundant repeat motifs and the most dominant di-nucleotides and mono-nucleotide repeat motifs were A/T and AT/TA. Forty-two of sixty randomly selected microsatellite loci were successfully amplified. Six of them were confirmed to be polymorphic in five V. destructor geographical populations. Our result showed transcriptomic data provide valuable resources for molecular marker development, and these novel microsatellite loci would be valuable in facilitating population genetic and evolutionary of V. destructor and related species.

We describe a new species of the genus Clathrosperchonella, C. olovisp. nov. from Brazil, including complete information for female, male and larva. This brings the number of named species in the Rhynchohydracaridae to thirteen. In addition, we provide a key to named species of Clathrosperchonella.

A protonymph of the snout mite genus OdontoscirusThor, 1913, O. cretacicosp. nov., is described and illustrated from Cretaceous amber of Myanmar is described and illustrated, constituting the earliest fossil species described of the family Bdellidae (ca. 99 Ma). After reexamining the literature and recollected specimens from type localities, we conclude that the following five recent species do not belong to the genus Biscirus and should be transferred to Odontoscirus: O. anomalicornis (Berlese 1916) comb. nov., O. symmetricus (Kramer 1898) comb. nov., O. uncinatus (Kramer 1898) comb. nov., O. norvegicus (Thor 1905) comb. nov., and O. insularis (Willmann 1939) comb. nov. The implications of the fossil record of the family is discussed.

A new feather mite genus Bernierinyssusgen. n. (Analgoidea: Pteronyssidae), associated with endemic Malagasy warblers (Passeriformes: Bernieridae), is proposed based on morphological evidence and DNA sequence data. Within this genus, we detected six mite species, including five new species described here: Bernierinyssus angulatussp. n. from Crossleyia xanthophrys, B. bernieriaesp. n. from Bernieria madagascariensis, B. bifenestratussp. n. from Hartertula flavoviridis, B. randiaesp. n. from Randia pseudozosterops, B. xanthomixissp. n. from Xanthomixis zosterops (type host) and X. cinereiceps, and B. oxylabis (Mironov and Wauthy 2005) comb. n. (transferred from Pteronyssoides Hull). Phylogenetic relationships of these mites were nearly perfectly congruent with those of their hosts, indicating that ancestral Bernierinyssus probably co-dispersed to Madagascar on the common ancestor of Malagasy warblers and then cospeciated with their hosts. Species of Bernierinyssus are well-delimited based on several lines of evidence: morphology (clear among-specific differences in discrete characters), host associations (one mite species per one host species, except for B. xanthomixis), genetic distances (large COX1 barcoding gap between among- and within-species K2P distances: 8.22–12.38% vs 0–2.9%, respectively), and molecular phylogenetics (all species are well-supported, monophyletic clades). Our study suggests that species of the genus Bernierinyssus have evolved slower than their avian hosts or co-associated feather lice. Despite the discordance in the mitochondrial DNA evolutionary rates, speciation events in mites largely corresponded to bird species divergences, resulting in a nearly perfect correlation between mite and bird species richness (Eichler's Rule). The mite B. xanthomixis was associated with two avian species, but still formed two distinct shallow lineages (COX1 distance: 1.65%) separated by the host species. The nearly strict host-specificity pattern found in Bernierinyssus contrasts with that of continental feather mites, which tend to be less host-specific and have nearly equal proportions of single-host vs multi-host species.

The comparative study of ontogeny and morphological structures of quill mite infrapopulations of a newly described species Peristerophila hirundineussp. nov. from Merops hirundineus (Coraciiformes: Meropidae), collected in Namibia, D.R. Congo, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania, shows evidence of female dimorphism in the genus PeristerophilaKethley, 1970. This proves that females of quill mite species referred to the genus Peristerophila are homeomorph forms, while those referred to the genus Castosyringophilus Bochkov and Perez, 2003 are heteromorph ones. Therefore, the genus Castosyringophilussyn. nov. is synonymized herein with the genus Peristerophila. The following new combinations for mite species formerly referred to Castosyringophilus are proposed: Peristerophila forpi (Bochkov and Perez, 2002) comb. nov., P. claravis (Skoracki and Glowska 2008) comb. nov., and P. meropis (Skoracki, Hromada and Sikora, 2017) comb. nov. The possible evolutionary sense of the female dimorphism in syringophilid mites is discussed.

The larva, deutonymph and adult of Calyptostoma seemani Masoumi & Saboori sp. nov. (Trombidiformes: Calyptostomatidae) are described from the Kandovan region, Alborz province, Iran. Larvae were reared from eggs laid by adults kept at room temperature in plastic pots. A key to larval and post-larval species of Calyptostoma of the world and corrections in the description of C. gorganica are presented.

The morphological ontogeny of Amerus polonicusKulczynski, 1902 is described and illustrated, based on the individuals from laboratory culture. The juveniles of this species are unpigmented, with punctated integument. The larva has 11 pairs of gastronotal setae, including h₂, the nymphs have 12 pairs. The nymphs are quadrideficient and eupheredermous, i.e. they carry the exuvial scalps of previous instars on the gastronotum, using mainly the inward curving setae la and lm to protect the exuvial scalps against loss. In all juveniles, seta d is present on all femora, genua and tibiae, and setae d on femur I and ft" on tarsus I are very long. All tarsi of juveniles are beaded, with long, thin distal parts. In the adult, seta d is lost on genua and tibiae I and II, but is retained on genua and tibiae III and IV.

In this study, temperature-dependent oviposition model of Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot fed by Tetranychus urticae Koch as prey was developed. In order to obtain data for the model, the longevity, fecundity and survivorship of adult females of A. swirskii were recorded at seven different temperatures (15, 20, 25, 27.5, 30, 32.5 and 35 °C) all at 60±5% RH and a photoperiod of 16:8h (L; D) in growth chamber. The longevity of females decreased with increasing temperature; the maximum at 15°C (84±3.24 days) and the minimum at 32.5°C (22.48±0.31 days). The female adult developmental rates (1/median longevity) was described by Sharpe and DeMichele model (r²=0.99). The highest and the lowest fecundity were observed at 25°C (22.63±0.76 eggs/female) and 15°C (9.4±0.67 eggs/female), respectively. The oviposition model comprised of three functions: temperature-dependent fecundity, age-specific cumulative oviposition rate and age-specific survival rate. The best model of temperature-dependent fecundity was described by a non-linear equation (extreme value function) (r²=0.98). Similarly, the best model of age-specific cumulative oviposition was described by the two-parameter Weibull function (r²=0.94). Eventually, the best model of age-specific survival rate was described by sigmoid function (r²=0.97). Amblyseius swirskii has ability to control pests such as thrips, whiteflies and two-spotted spider mites and can grow even in low temperatures. Therefore, this mite can be active at the beginning of spring season. Temperature-dependent oviposition model of A. swirskii can determine optimal temperature for mass-rearing and predict seasonal population dynamic of this predatory mite in greenhouses. Finally, the greenhouse data can validate this model in future.

The hard tick Hyalomma marginatum Koch, 1844 is the main vector of Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF). Although this disease is a serious public health concern in Turkey, there is still no information about population structure and genetic diversity of this tick species. In this study, the genetic structure of H. marginatum populations collected from nine different locations of Turkey were evaluated using five microsatellite markers. A total of 75 H. marginatum samples were collected from domestic animals and genotyped. We hypothesized that localities which have high CCHF incidence rates (Bayburt, Amasya and Tokat) might be genetically distinct from the localities with low incidence rates. All approaches used in this study (DAPC, STRUCTURE and F_ST) showed low levels of genetic diversity. Although, no genetic pattern was observed between localities that can be associated with CCHF incidence rates, there was moderate genetic differentiation between Igdir and Tekirdag populations (F_ST = 0.142) and also between Igdir and Mugla populations (F_ST = 0.128). DAPC confirmed this finding, as Igdir, Mugla and Tekirdag populations were found to be genetically different when compared to other populations. The mechanisms underlying overall observed low genetic variation and only moderate differentiation between some of these populations should be investigated in further studies in the context of other host-parasite-vector system regulating factors such as antropogenic transports of livestock, environmental conditions and the role of migratory routes of birds.

Ixodes lividus Koch, 1844 (Ixodida: Ixodidae) is a specialised endophilic tick of the sand martin Riparia riparia whose distributional range matches that of its host in the Paleartic region. However, the presence of this tick species has not been described in Mediterranean countries where the sand martin also breeds. In this study, we investigated I. lividus infestation in 1,081 Riparia riparia individuals from two breeding colonies in central Portugal. In total, three I. lividus were collected from three sand martins (infestation rate of 0.28%). A molecular survey on these ticks did not detect the presence of any Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., Rickttesia spp. nor Babesia spp. This report expands to the south and west the known distributional range of I. lividus in Europe.

A new species of water mites from Montenegro and Bulgaria, Atractides anae Pešić sp. nov., is described, combining traditional morphological techniques with the analysis of partial mtDNA COI sequences (DNA-barcodes). Based on our molecular and morphological analysis, the new species is most closely related to the crenobiontic A. pennatus (K. Viets 1920) from which it differs by 6.4 (SD = 1.12)% K2P distance. A dataset including the novel COI sequences of 10 Atractides species from Montenegro and Iran is assembled in order to facilitate further studies on the genus by using molecular tools.

A new species of intertidal oribatid mites from Tenerife is described and its full ontogenetic development is given in detail. Thalassozetes canariensissp. nov. can easily be distinguished from its congeners by its characteristic notogastral cuticular pattern showing loosely distributed irregular elevations, and its rectangular median sternal cavity. Based on morphology, Thalassozetes canariensissp. nov. is most closely related to the Mediterranean T. riparius; both species share a small transversal band-like notogastral light spot and the longitudinal orientation of lyrifissure iad. The juvenile morphology of T. canariensissp. nov. conforms basically to those of known Thalassozetes juveniles but there are discrepancies in certain aspects that require further research into all known species. This report of T. canariensissp. nov. from Tenerife is the first record of an intertidal mite for the Canaries, and also for the Eastern Atlantic area. Further records of this species within the area may be expected.

Two new Bloszykiella species are discovered and described from the Afrotropical realm. Bloszykiella rammsteinisp. nov. (from Zimbabwe) differs from its congeners in the sculptural pattern of the dorsal shield, the strongly sclerotized U-shaped grooves on the dorsal shield and pilose dorsal setae. Bloszykiella lindemannisp. nov. (from Rwanda) differs from the other species in the shape of the sternal setae, setae on the apical margin of the pygidial shield and the sculptural pattern of the female genital shield.

This work includes taxonomic and faunistic data on the oribatid mite genus Phyllhermannia (Oribatida, Hermanniidae) in Taiwan. One new species is described on the basis of adult specimens; Phyllhermannia shikongensissp. nov. differs from all species of the genus by the presence of prodorsal hump on the prodorsum. Phyllhermannia pulchraAoki, 1973 is recorded in the Oriental region for the first time; this species is redescribed and its main morphological traits are summarized. An identification key to species of Phyllhermannia of Taiwan and adjacent continental territory (China) is provided.