Tetranychoidea: Tetranychidae, Bryobiinae

Superorder Acariformes

  Order Trombidiformes

 Suborder Prostigmata

   Supercohort Eleutherengonides

 Cohort  Raphignathina

   Superfamily Tetranychoidea

       Family Tetranychidae

          Subfamily Bryobiinae

 

Common names: clover mites

 

Probability of Encounter: High

 

Quarantine importance: High.  The Bryobiinae contains a number of important pests of grains, fruit trees, and some other crops.

 

Diagnosis:

• Empodium with tenent hairs.

• Prodorsum with 4 pairs of setae (vi, ve, sci, sce)

• Adult female with 3 pairs of anal setae (males with 5 pairs of ano-genital setae).

• Cheliceral bases adnate, fused mesally into a stylophore (sometimes withdrawn into the body); chelicerae with fixed digit reduced and movable digit whiplike.

• Peritremes typically chambered structures on the dorso-lateral surface of the prodorsum; naso absent; prodorsal trichobothria absent; 2 pairs of eye lenses usually present. Palps 5 segmented; with thumbclaw process (claw-like seta on the palp tibia and a thumb- or button-like subterminal palp tarsus).  Leg tarsi usually with tenent hairs on claws or empodium.  Genital papillae absent; males with an intromittent aedeagus.

 

 

Similar taxa.  The true spider mites in the Tetranychinae do not have empodia with tenent hairs.

 

Ecology & Distribution.  Bryobiinae are often found on twigs or the undersides of leaves.  They are not able to produce silk and do not have a spinneret on their palp tarsus.

 

References

 Baker EW & Pritchard AE.  1960.  The tetranychoid mites of Africa.  Hilgardia 29(11): 455-574.

 Baker EW & Tuttle DM.  1994.  A guide to the spider mites (Tetranychidae) of the United States.  Indira Pub. House, West Bloomfield, MI: 347 pp.

Bolland, H.R., J. Gutierrez & C.H.W. Flechtmann. 1998. World Catalogue of the Spider Mite Family (Acari: Tetranychidae). Brill: Leiden.

Helle W. & M.W. Sabelis (eds.) 1985. Spider Mites, Their Biology, Natural Enemies, and Control, vol. 1A. Elsevier: New York.

Jeppson L.R., H.H. Keifer & E.W.Baker 1975. Mites Injurious to Economic Plants, University of California Press: Berkeley

Mignon A & CHW Flechtmann 2004.  First additions and corrections to the World Catalogue of the Spider Mite Family (Acari: Tetranychidae).  Intern. J. Acarol. 30: 143-152.

Ochoa, R., H. Aguilar & C. Vargas 1994. Phytophagous Mites of Central America: An Illustrated Guide  CATIE, Turrialba, Costa Rica.

Tseng Y-H  1990.  A monograph of the mite family Tetranychidae (Acarina: Trombidiformes) from Taiwan.  Taiwan Museum Special Publication series 9. 224 pp.

Zhang Z-Q.  2003.  Mites of greenhouses: identification, biology and control.  CABI Publishing, Wallingford:  244 pp.