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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #389500
Research Project: Systematics of Acari and Hemiptera: Plant Pests, Predators, and Disease Vectors

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: New species and records of Metatarsonemus (Acari: Tarsonemidae) from Central and South Americas

Author
item SOUSA, A.S. - UNIVERSIDADE ESTADUAL DE SANTA CRUZ
item REZENDE, J. - SAO PAULO STATE UNIVERSITY (UNESP)
item LOFEGO, ANTONIO - SAO PAULO STATE UNIVERSITY (UNESP)
item Ochoa, Ronald - Ron
item BAUCHAN, GARY - RETIRED ARS EMPLOYEE
item GULBRONSON, C - U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA)
item OLIVEIRA, A. - UNIVERSIDADE ESTADUAL DE SANTA CRUZ

Submitted to: Systematic and Applied Acarology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/1/2022
Publication Date: 1/12/2022
Citation: Sousa, A.G., Rezende, J.M., Lofego, A., Ochoa, R., Bauchan, G.R., Gulbronson, C., Oliveira, A.R. 2022. New species and records of Metatarsonemus (Acari: Tarsonemidae) from Central and South Americas. Systematic and Applied Acarology. 27(2):381-398. https://doi.org/10.11158/saa.27.2.11.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.11158/saa.27.2.11

Interpretive Summary: Two new species of white mites are described using light, confocal and scanning electron microscopy. These new species maybe associated to fungal and bacterial diseases among these tropical crops. Modern microscopy techniques have greatly enhanced the ability to identify new characteristics useful for taxonomic identification of these new species. These results are important to tropical fruit tree producers, breeders, growers, plant protection officers, entomologists, pathologists, biologists and agriculture scientists in the government, at universities, and at private universities who are interested in how plant diseases spread.

Technical Abstract: The family Tarsonemidae (Acari: Prostigmata) exhibits a high diversity of feeding habits and morphological structures, which allow them to be successful in many habitats. In Costa Rica, the Mesoamerican forest is a biome that includes all tropical and subtropical natural plant formations with high biodiversity. In Brazil, Theobroma cacao L. (Malvaceae) is cultivated under the canopies of larger trees, in a shaded plantation system called cabruca. Two new Metatarsonemus species are described from Brazilian cabruca agroforest. New records for the genus from Mesoamerica, Atlantic Forest and cabruca agroforest are presented. A key to the species of Metatarsonemus of the world is included.