Phytoseiidae

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Phytoseiidae
Proprioseiopsis mexicanus 1.png
Proprioseiopsis mexicanus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Mesostigmata
Clade: Dermanyssiae
Superfamily: Phytoseioidea
Family: Phytoseiidae
Berlese, 1916
Subfamilies

Amblyseiinae Muma, 1961
Phytoseiinae Berlese, 1916
Typhlodrominae Scheuten, 1857

Contents

Diversity
About 90 genera, over 2,000 species

The Phytoseiidae are a family of mites which feed on thrips and other mite species. They are often used as a biological control agent for managing mite pests. [1] Because of their usefulness as biological control agents, interest in Phytoseiidae has steadily increased over the past century. Public awareness of the biological control potential of invertebrates has been growing, though mainly in the US and Europe. [2] In 1950, there were 34 known species. [3] Today, there are 2,731 documented species [4] organized in 90 genera and three subfamilies. [5]

Subfamilies

The family Phytoseiidae contains these subfamilies: [6]

Anatomy and life cycle

Phytoseiid eggs can be found along the vein of the bottom side of a leaf. They are oblong and translucent white. [7]

The larvae of these mites range from translucent white to tan in colour. They are tiny and oval in shape and size, have six legs, and are wingless. Nymphs look similar to larvae, with the exception of being slightly larger and having eight legs. [7]

Adult phytoseiids are less than 0.5 mm in size, pear-shaped, wingless, and have eight legs. They are translucent white, but turn a pale tan, orange/red, or green after feeding. [7]

Developmental rate is species-specific, ranging from less than a week to four weeks, with temperature and diet affecting the rate. [5]

The body of Phytoseiidae is divided into two parts: the gnathosoma (anterior) and idiosoma (posterior). The gnathosoma includes chelicerae, sensorial palps, and a stylophore. Males have an added feature- a spermatodactyl to transfer spermatophore to females. [5]

Lifestyles

Phytoseiid mites are best known as predators of small arthropods and nematodes, but many species are also known to feed on fungi, plant exudates, and pollen. [8]

Scientists have proposed classifications of the Phytoseiidae based on their food sources. In the most current version, developed in 2013, phytoseiids are grouped into four types. [8]

Misconceptions

Mites are commonly associated as a whole with parasitic mites like scabies, chiggers, and bird mites, [9] or common house dust mites, giving them a negative reputation. However, the family Phytoseiidae provides benefits for agriculture by feeding on pests. Insecticides are often used when handling agricultural pests, though to attract and conserve phytoseiid mites, broad-spectrum insecticides are to be avoided. [7] Phytoseiidae can be used as biological control agents in place of toxic chemicals.

Phytoseiidae as biological control agents

Phytoseiids are an important natural predator of the spider mite. [10] When phytoseiid populations decline, spider mites can severely damage commercial crops. Since World War II, spider mite (tetranychid) populations have increased due to the use of synthetic pesticides. [10] The reason pesticides have increased spider mite populations remains mysterious to scientists, but it has spurred an interest in phytoseiids as biological control agents. [10] So far, research has shown that phytoseiids are effective control agents in both their native environments and open-field vegetable crops. [10] [11]

Phytoseiid species that act as biological control agents are influenced by the availability of their prey. [12] Phytoseiids can postpone or delay egg production during periods when prey are scarce. [12] This allows them to have a longer lifespan and likely serves as an adaptation to environments where prey availability is variable. [12] In addition to being able to delay reproduction, phytoseiids are also capable of rapid reproduction when prey is readily available. [12] They reproduce more when prey availability is high, which increases their effectiveness as biological control agents. [12] When prey availability increases, females lay more eggs, and more healthy offspring are produced during reproductive periods. [13] In addition, when prey availability increases, the Phytoseiidae kill more prey during reproductive cycles, and the ratio of prey killed to eggs laid increases. [13]

Wolbachia infections

Wolbachia , a parasitic bacterial genus that affects a vast array of arthropod species such as Drosophila simulans , is common in the Phytoseiidae. [14] It affects gender determination and reproduction of its hosts, making it a powerful agent of evolution. [15] Wolbachia species have been detected in many species of Phytoseiidae, both in the field and in the lab. [14] Although most research focuses on Wolbachia in germ line tissues, the bacteria can also be found in somatic tissues. [16] Wolbachia's main method of spreading is to be passed down through the generations in germline tissues, but it is also capable of being transferred horizontally. [14] [16]

Although Wolbachia bacteria do not benefit their hosts in any way, they are maintained in the population because infected mothers pass them to their offspring through the ovum. Over time, bacterial presence in a population can lead to complete reproductive isolation of that population from uninfected populations. [15] Wolbachia causes speciation through reproductive isolation. [15] Some hosts evolve with a dependency on Wolbachia for reproductive functions, so that individuals without Wolbachia infections have lower reproductive fitness. [15]

Wolbachia influences the gender determination of its hosts, making females more common than males. [15] In populations affected by Wolbachia, females commonly compete for the right to mate with males. [15] This is one of the ways in which Wolbachia infections can lead to speciation, because females evolve traits that allow them to better compete for males. [15] In extreme cases, the feminizing effect of Wolbachia can cause the host species to lose the chromosome responsible for female gender. [15] Wolbachia infections are capable of causing the extinction of hosts by making females much more common than males. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mite</span> Small eight-legged arthropod

Mites are small arachnids. Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari. However, most recent genetic analyses do not recover the two as each other's closest relative within Arachnida, rendering the group non-monophyletic. Most mites are tiny, less than 1 mm (0.04 in) in length, and have a simple, unsegmented body plan. The small size of most species makes them easily overlooked; some species live in water, many live in soil as decomposers, others live on plants, sometimes creating galls, while others are predators or parasites. This last type includes the commercially destructive Varroa parasite of honey bees, as well as scabies mites of humans. Most species are harmless to humans, but a few are associated with allergies or may transmit diseases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thrips</span> Order of insects

Thrips are minute, slender insects with fringed wings and unique asymmetrical mouthparts. Entomologists have described approximately 7,700 species. They fly only weakly and their feathery wings are unsuitable for conventional flight; instead, thrips exploit an unusual mechanism, clap and fling, to create lift using an unsteady circulation pattern with transient vortices near the wings.

<i>Tetranychus urticae</i> Species of mite

Tetranychus urticae is a species of plant-feeding mite generally considered to be a pest. It is the most widely known member of the family Tetranychidae or spider mites. Its genome was fully sequenced in 2011, and was the first genome sequence from any chelicerate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spider mite</span> Family of arthropods

Spider mites are members of the Tetranychidae family, which includes about 1,200 species. They are part of the subclass Acari (mites). Spider mites generally live on the undersides of leaves of plants, where they may spin protective silk webs, and can cause damage by puncturing the plant cells to feed. Spider mites are known to feed on several hundred species of plants.

<i>Trichogramma</i> Genus of parasitic insects

Trichogramma is a genus of minute polyphagous wasps that are endoparasitoids of insect eggs. Trichogramma is one of around 80 genera from the family Trichogrammatidae, with over 200 species worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tydeidae</span> Family of mites

Tydeidae is a family of acariform mites. As of 2016, it contained over 300 species in three subfamilies, though more species have been discovered since then.

<i>Raoiella indica</i> Species of mite

Raoiella indica, commonly known as the red palm mite, is a species of mite belonging to the family Tenuipalpidae. A pest of several species of palm in the Middle East and South East Asia, it is now becoming established throughout the Caribbean. The invasion of this species is the biggest mite explosion ever observed in the Americas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydrachnidia</span> Group of mites

Hydrachnidia, also known as "water mites", Hydrachnidiae, Hydracarina or Hydrachnellae, are among the most abundant and diverse groups of benthic arthropods, composed of 6,000 described species from 57 families. As water mites of Africa, Asia, and South America have not been well-studied, the numbers are likely to be far greater. Other taxa of parasitengone mites include species with semi-aquatic habits, but only the Hydracarina are properly subaquatic. Water mites follow the general Parasitengona life cycle: active larva, inactive (calyptostasic) protonymph, active deutonymph, inactive tritonymph and active adult. Usually, larvae are parasites, while deutonymphs and adults are predators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laelapidae</span> Family of mites

The Laelapidae are a family of mites in the order Mesostigmata. The family is also referred to in the literature as Laelaptidae, which may be the correct spelling.

Euseius concordis is a species of mite in the family Phytoseiidae.

<i>Neoseiulus cucumeris</i> Species of mite

Neoseiulus cucumeris, the cucumeris mite, is a species of predatory mite in the family Phytoseiidae. It is used in biological pest control of western flower thrips in cucumber and some other greenhouse crops.

<i>Aceria anthocoptes</i> Species of mite

Aceria anthocoptes, also known as the russet mite, rust mite, thistle mite or the Canada thistle mite, is a species of mite that belongs to the family Eriophyidae. It was first described by Alfred Nalepa in 1892.

<i>Brevipalpus phoenicis</i> Species of mite

Brevipalpus phoenicis, also known as the false spider mite, red and black flat mite, and in Australia as the passionvine mite, is a species of mite in the family Tenuipalpidae. This species occurs globally, and is a serious pest to such crops as citrus, tea, papaya, guava and coffee, and can heavily damage numerous other crops. They are unique in having haploid females, a condition caused by a bacterium that change haploid males into females.

Acarophenacidae is a family of mites in the order Trombidiformes that are egg parasitoids and ectoparasites of beetles or thrips. It contains eight genera and around 40 species.

<i>Ostrinia furnacalis</i> Species of moth

Ostrinia furnacalis is a species of moth in the family Crambidae, the grass moths. It was described by Achille Guenée in 1854 and is known by the common name Asian corn borer since this species is found in Asia and feeds mainly on corn crop. The moth is found from China to Australia, including in Java, Sulawesi, the Philippines, Borneo, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Micronesia. The Asian corn borer is part of the species complex, Ostrinia, in which members are difficult to distinguish based on appearance. Other Ostrinia such as O. orientalis, O. scapulalis, O. zealis, and O. zaguliaevi can occur with O. furnacalis, and the taxa can be hard to tell apart.

<i>Bryobia</i> Genus of mites

Bryobia is a genus of mites in the spider mite family, Tetranychidae. The taxonomy of the genus is difficult. The genus has been revised several times. It is difficult to distinguish these tiny species from each other on the basis of morphological characters, and there is little agreement on which characteristics are of importance. Also, species can be variable in morphology. Over 130 species have been described, but many of the names are likely synonyms.

Typhlodromips swirskii, the Swirski mite, is a species of predatory mite in the family Phytoseiidae. It is used in biological pest control of western flower thrips in greenhouse or indoor grown crops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stigmaeidae</span> Family of mites

Stigmaeidae is a family of prostigmatan mites in the order Trombidiformes. At over 600 species, it is the largest family in superfamily Raphignathoidea. It has a worldwide distribution.

<i>Chaetodactylus krombeini</i> Species of mite

Chaetodactylus krombeini,, was described by Karl Krombein and E. W. Baker in the 1960s. The mites are about 0.5 mm across, with the females larger than the males. Pollen mites are a kleptoparasitic pest of Megachilid solitary bees, with Ch. krombeini found with Osmia lignaria of North America,. Pollen mites do not feed on bees, but rather their provisions, and are harmful because they consume the food resources and starve or stunt the developing larvae; there is evidence that pollen mites also directly harm the egg by puncturing it.

Aleuroglyphus ovatus, commonly known as brown-legged mite or brownlegged grain mite, is a species of mite in the family Acaridae. It is a cosmopolitan pest of grain.

References

  1. ↑ de Moraes, G.J.; McMurtry, J.A.; Denmark, H.A.; Campos, C.B. (2004). "A revised catalog of the mite family Phytoseiidae" (PDF). Zootaxa . 434: 1–494. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.434.1.1.
  2. ↑ Wyckhuys, K. A. G.; Pozsgai, G.; Lovei, G. L.; Vasseur, L.; Wratten, S. D.; Gurr, G. M.; Reynolds, O. L.; Goettel, M. (2019-04-10). "Global disparity in public awareness of the biological control potential of invertebrates". Science of the Total Environment. 660: 799–806. Bibcode:2019ScTEn.660..799W. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.01.077 . hdl: 10182/10785 . ISSN   0048-9697. PMID   30743965. S2CID   73444309.
  3. ↑ Çobanoğlu, Sultan; Kumral, Nabi Alper (2016-06-02). "The biodiversity, density and population trend of mites (Acari) on Capsicum annuum L. in temperate and semi-arid zones of Turkey". Systematic and Applied Acarology. 21 (7): 907. doi:10.11158/saa.21.7.5. ISSN   1362-1971. S2CID   89015442.
  4. ↑ ".:: Phytoseiidae Database ::". www.lea.esalq.usp.br. Retrieved 2015-10-20.
  5. 1 2 3 "Untitled Document". www1.montpellier.inra.fr. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  6. ↑ ( Zicha 2004 )
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Predatory Mites | University of Maryland Extension". extension.umd.edu. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  8. 1 2 McMurtry, James (December 24, 2013). "Revision of the lifestyles of phytoseiid mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae) and implications for biological control strategies". Systematic & Applied Acarology. 18 (4): 297. doi: 10.11158/saa.18.4.1 . hdl: 11336/84660 . S2CID   55807023 . Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Parasitic Mites of Humans | Entomology". entomology.ca.uky.edu. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Huffaker, C. B.; Vrie, M. van de; McMurtry, J. A. (1969-01-01). "The Ecology of Tetranychid Mites and Their Natural Control". Annual Review of Entomology. 14 (1): 125–174. doi:10.1146/annurev.en.14.010169.001013.
  11. ↑ Stansly, Ph.A.; Castillo, J.A.; Tansey, J.A.; Kostyk, B.C. (2018-06-28). "Management of insect and mite pests with predaceous mites in open-field vegetable crops". Israel Journal of Entomology . 48 (2): 83–111. doi:10.5281/zenodo.1299520.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Blommers, Leo H. M.; Arendonk, Rolf C. M. van (1979-12-01). "The profit of senescence in phytoseiid mites". Oecologia. 44 (1): 87–90. Bibcode:1979Oecol..44...87B. doi:10.1007/BF00346403. ISSN   0029-8549. PMID   28310469. S2CID   27696609.
  13. 1 2 Friese, D. D.; Gilstrap, F. E. (1982-06-01). "Influence of prey availability on reproduction and prey consumption of Phytoseiulus persimilis, Amblyseius californicus and Metaseiulus occidentalis (Acarina: Phytoseiidae)". International Journal of Acarology. 8 (2): 85–89. doi:10.1080/01647958208683283. ISSN   0164-7954.
  14. 1 2 3 Johanowicz, Denise L.; Hoy, Marjorie A. (1996-05-01). "Wolbachia in a Predator–Prey System: 16S Ribosomal Dna Analysis of Two Phytoseiids (Acari: Phytoseiidae) and Their Prey (Acari: Tetranychidae)". Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 89 (3): 435–441. doi: 10.1093/aesa/89.3.435 . ISSN   0013-8746.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Charlat, Sylvain; Hurst, Gregory D. D.; Merçot, Hervé (2003-04-01). "Evolutionary consequences of Wolbachia infections". Trends in Genetics. 19 (4): 217–223. doi:10.1016/S0168-9525(03)00024-6. ISSN   0168-9525. PMID   12683975.
  16. 1 2 Dobson, S. L.; Bourtzis, K.; Braig, H. R.; Jones, B. F.; Zhou, W.; Rousset, F.; O'Neill, S. L. (1999-02-01). "Wolbachia infections are distributed throughout insect somatic and germ line tissues". Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. 29 (2): 153–160. doi: 10.1016/s0965-1748(98)00119-2 . ISSN   0965-1748. PMID   10196738.

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