Experimental and Applied Acarology (2014) 62, 267-277
Marie-Stéphane Tixier, Jürgen Otto, Serge Kreiter, V. Dos Santos and Jennifer Beard (2014)
Is Neoseiulus wearnei the Neoseiulus californicus of Australia?
Experimental and Applied Acarology 62 (3), 267-277
Abstract: Species of the family Phytoseiidae are known as predatory mites, some of them being used in crops to control mite pests, all around the world. Neoseiulus (=Cydnodromus) californicus is among the most commonly used Phytoseiidae species in biological control programs, especially in vineyards, orchards and vegetable fields. This species is distributed world-wide but has never been reported from Australia. On the other hand, specimens morphologically close to N. californicus have been assigned to a species called Neoseiulus wearnei, only reported from Australia. Investigations based on morphological and molecular comparisons were carried out to investigate whether these two taxa are conspecific. Morphological analyses showed no significant difference between specimens identified as N. wearnei and N. californicus. Similarly, genetic distances between these taxa were null, showing that all these specimens belong to the same species. Although it is not yet possible to conclude that all the specimens identified as N. wearnei are N. californicus, we can conclude that N. californicus is present in Australia. The information about the biology of N. californicus can thus now be applied to the Australian population of this species for biological control purposes.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Marie-Stéphane Tixier, Serge Kreiter
Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
identification/taxonomy
Pest and/or beneficial records:
| Beneficial | Pest/Disease/Weed | Crop/Product | Country | Quarant.
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neoseiulus californicus (predator) | Australia (South+SE) |
