The subgenus Galumna (Neogalumna) (Oribatida, Galumnidae) was represented by only one species in China prior to this work. During investigation of farmland soil biodiversity in eastern China in 2019, a new species, Galumna (Neogalumna) tongliaoensissp. nov., was found from soil of corn farmland in Naiman Banner, Inner Mongolia. Galumna (Neogalumna) tongliaoensissp. nov. can be distinguished from other congeneric species by the following combination of features: bothridial setae with narrow fusiform and barbed head; interlamellar setae extremely short; lamellar and sublamellar lines curving backwards, parallel; four pairs of porose areas oval or circular; genital plates smooth, with large distance between setae g₄ and g₅; postanal porose absent. An updated identification key with data on distribution of known species of the subgenus is presented to facilitate the further study on this group.

The extension of lifespan by means of calorie restriction (CR) is one of the most replicable mechanisms across a range of different taxa. However, the effects of this on the next generation are less studied due to the complexities associated with such an experiment. In this study, the effects of CR and ad libitum (AL) feeding on lifespan, duration of ovipositional stages, and fecundity of a predatory mite, Neoseiulus cucumeris were investigated. The egg volume, sex ratio, and survival rate of the offspring were then compared across the different treatments. The three treatments were: (1) 40 prey Tyrophagus putrescentiae eggs per day representing the AL treatment; (2) 10 eggs per day representing medium CR; and (3) 5 eggs per day being high CR. To assess for transgenerational effects, the eggs produced under the three different treatments were fed AL and reared until adulthood or death. Mothers under the medium CR treatment had a lifespan that almost doubled the lifespan of mothers fed AL. Contrastingly, a higher reproductive rate was seen in mothers under AL, which also had a significantly higher total fecundity when compared with both CR treatments. The AL mothers had a shorter gestational period and produced larger eggs. There was no difference between the sex ratio of offspring for the medium CR and AL treatments. These results indicate the different effects of the two levels of CR and highlight the trade-offs that are accompanied with a longer lifespan due to caloric restriction.

To date seven species of the genus SphaerotarsusWomersley, 1936 have been described namely, three exclusively from larvae, three from postlarval forms and one from larvae and postlarval forms. In this study, the larvae of a fifth species are described and illustrated from Iran, namely: Sphaerotarsus sadafae sp. nov. collected from soil and litter under oak trees, (Quercus spp). Also, a key to the world larval species is provided.

A new species of the laelapid mite genus Gaeolaelaps Evans & Till, G. tuberculatussp. nov., is described from female specimens collected in soil and rotten leaves under citrus trees in Mazandaran province, northern Iran. Supplementary information on G. deinos (Zeman) is presented. Gaeolaelaps schusteri (Hirschmann) is redescribed based on the type specimens as well as additional specimens collected from the littoral zone of mangrove forests in Qeshm Island, in the eastern part of the Persian Gulf, southern Iran.

A new species of the genus Caligonella Berlese (Acari: Trombidiformes: Caligonellidae), C. astagalusi n. sp., is described and illustrated based on the female. The specimens of the new species were collected from soil and litter under Astragalus sp. bushes (Fabaceae) in Nahavad, Hamedan province, western Iran. A key to all known species of the genus Caligonella is provided.

Tick-borne disease surveillance was conducted by tick drag among uncut grasses/herbaceous vegetation and mixed forest habitats from 2018–2020 at US Army Garrison Humphreys, Pyeongtaek, the Republic of Korea (ROK). While identifying ticks collected in the spring of 2020, teratological anomalies were observed in nymphs of Haemaphysalis longicornis (in one specimen, partial twinning of the posterior idiosoma, resulting in 2 anuses; in a second, asymmetry of the idiosoma) and Ixodes nipponensis (7 legs). These teratological observations in H. longicornis and I. nipponensis are reported for the first time in the ROK.

Damages produced by eriophyid mites to Olea europaea subsp. europaea cv. arauco have been known for many years. In a previous publication, the presence of Aceria oleae (Nalepa) and Oxycenus maxwelli, (Keifer) in Argentina was reported, but the species was not definitively identified. In the past five years, damage caused by this mite to leaves, flowers and fruits in many production areas was very high, leading to the need for further investigations about this mite, the most numerous mite species on this plant in Argentina. The present paper is divided in three parts: a) a morphological characterization of A. oleae based on specimens collected in Argentina, with the use of SEM; b) a study of its life cycle; and c) an illustration of its damage to leaves and fruits. The morphological study led to the confirmation of the identity of the species and to the determination of morphological aspects not previously mentioned in the literature. Life cycle and damage were observed to be similar to what has been previously mentioned in the literature for the same mite in other countries.

Small rodent species are the most important blood source of tick larvae; their role is crucial for tick survival, maintainance and spread in nature. From data of 1409 ticks collected from 282 individuals of three small rodent species live-trapped at a natural habitat, we drew conclusions about aggregation of ticks, the anatomical sites most frequently used for engorgement, different susceptibility of host species to tick infestation. We studied data of various age and sex groups of hosts, individuals of different reproductive status and recaptured rodents. The tick load of A. agrarius and A. flavicollis differed significantly, accumulation of ticks was shown on the auricles of both Apodemus species, and on the throat-neck region of A. agrarius. Old rodents carried more, lactating females less ticks, than the average. Data of recaptured hosts showed, that ticks invade the body via the toes and nose and they are aiming for the auricles. Voles were significantly more heavily infested with nymphs which fed in the auditory tracts, which were free of ticks in mice. The phenomenon of aggregation is important for understanding the ecology of tick-borne diseases, as only a minority of the hosts are responsible for disease risks, and it is particularly important for control strategies that apply acaricides to reservoir hosts.

Complicated ecological interactions among numerous species could drive ecosystems towards more stability. Scarabaeoid beetles render a profound contribution to ecological processes through establishing symbiotic relationships with a variety of fungivorous mites. Such interactions with mites play important roles in forest conservation and biodiversity. In this study, we aimed to peruse the scarabaeoid-mite associations by alpha diversity tools. We investigated species diversity, richness and host range of heterostigmatic mites (Trombidiformes: Prostigmata) associated with scarabaeoid beetles. A total of 1113 individual mites belonging to 20 species were recorded from 870 adult individuals of Scarabaeidae (six species), 540 Lucanidae (two species) and 360 Geotrupidae (one species). Attachment site of the mites on the hosts were examined and discussed; that indicated they have most and least safety status on Lucanidae and Scarabaeidae, respectively. Spatulaphorus gorganica (Pygmephoridae) was the most frequent mite species, and Premicrodispus spinosus, P. brevisetus and Paramicrodispus scarabidophilus (Microdispidae) relatively common, whereas the other mites occurred occasionally. The host family Scarabaeidae showed to be more diverse than two other families, associated with highest number of mite species. The results of phoresy and host-range of heterostigmatic mites have been discussed.

Haemaphysalis longicornis Neumann is a widely distributed species known for its capacity to transmit pathogens of medical, public health, and veterinary importance. Due to the environmental contamination caused by synthetic acaricides, plant essential oils have emerged as a promising alternative to manage tick infestation. This study evaluated the ultrastructural and morphological changes induced by Cymbopogon citratus Stapf (lemongrass) essential oil on adult H. longicornis tick. The concentrations of lemongrass essential oil used for the treatment via the adult immersion test were from 10 to 40 mg/mL. The most significant alterations 24 h post-exposure include the proliferation of lysosomes, reduction in the number of the rough endoplasmic reticulum, disorganization of the microvilli, the disappearance of lipid droplets and hematin granules, and cytoplasmic vacuolization (midgut); a thinner endocuticle and epicuticle, the deletion of the subdivision's demarcation of the procuticle, disfiguration of the lamellar arrangements of the exocuticle, and cytoplasmic vacuolization of the epithelial cells (integument); cracks on the sensilla sockets, the detachment of one or two sensilla in the anterior pit, and partial disfiguration of part of the slit's edge (Haller's organ). These results reflect the acaricidal properties of the essential oil and could be an alternative means of tick control.

Tetranychus ludeni Zacher (Acari: Tetranychidae) is an invasive polyphagous haplodiploid pest mite of many vegetable crops in many parts of the world. This study investigated the effects of simultaneous variations in the local foundress population density and size on the reproduction and population growth of T. ludeni. We show that negative population-density and -size dependency limited the reproduction of foundresses, where the effects of population size on population growth overweighed that of population density. We further demonstrate that ovipositing females could accelerate population growth rate (intrinsic rate of increase, r_m) at higher population sizes by producing more daughters early during their lifespan, which can be an adaptive strategy to allow more daughters to complete development and disperse to reduce future food competition intensity. This study provided knowledge on population dynamics in response to foundress population density and size in general and T. ludeni population forecast and precise timing of pest management in particular.

This paper describes three new species of genus Cunaxoides, namely, C. reticulatus Chen & Jin sp. nov., C. kanasensis Chen & Jin sp. nov. and C. allokanasensis Chen & Jin sp. nov., which are described and figured from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China.

Neoseiulus kikuyusp. nov. of Neoseiulus paspalivorus species-group was discovered from kikuyu grass, Pennisetum clandestinus (Poaceae) in Auckland, New Zealand. All life stages of this new species were described and illustrated.

A new species of the genus Phyllhermannia is described from soil of Golden Gate Highlands National Park (central South Africa), based on all ontogenetic instars. The species is also recorded in Lesotho. Adult of Phyllhermannia goldengatensissp. nov. differs from P. africana, P. natalensis, P. nathanaeli, and P. pauliani by the presence of median longitudinal and three pairs of lateral semicircular band-like furrows resembling the shape of large cells on dorsal part of the notogaster. The juvenile instars of P. goldengatensissp. nov. are compared with those P. bandabanda, P. falklandica, P. gladiata, P. lemannae, and P. sauli. An identification key to known species of Phyllhermannia in South Africa is presented.

One new phyllocoptine species and two eriophyine species collected in Norther-West Iran are described and illustrated: Aculops shalchii Lotfollahi sp. nov. (Phyllocoptinae) from Sweet Clover, Melilotus indicus (L.) All. (Fabaceae), Eriophyes euphorbiae (Nalepa, 1891) from Euphorbia boissieriana (Woronow) Prokh. (Euphorbiaceae) and Aceria rubiae (Canestrini, 1897) from Rubia tinctorum L. (Rubiaceae). Our supplementary data on morphology of A. rubiae and E. euphorpbiae indicate that they both have a thin translucent supracapitular plate situated below the frontal lobe of the prodorsal shield. Data from literature suggest A. rubiae and E. euphorbiae to be gall-forming species, however no visible damages causing by these mites were found in Iran.