Systematic and Applied Acarology (2009) 14, 19-29

Helen F. Nahrung and Rachel Waugh (2009)
Local dispersion and damage of Corymbia citriodora subsp. variegata (Myrtaceae) regrowth by eriophyid mites (Acari: Eriophyoidea)
Systematic and Applied Acarology 14 (1), 19-29
Abstract: Eriophyid mites (Acari: Eriophyoidea: Eriophyidae: Rhombacus sp. and Acalox ptychocarpi Keifer) are recently-emerged pests of commercial eucalypt plantations in subtropical Australia. They cause severe blistering, necrosis and leaf loss to Corymbia citriodora subsp. variegata (F. Muell.) K.D. Hill and L.A.S. Johnson, one of the region's most important hardwood plantation species. In this study we examine the progression, incidence and severity of these damage symptoms. We also measure within-branch colonisation by mites to identify dispersive stages, and estimate the relative abundance of the two co-occurring species. Rhombacus sp., an undescribed species, was numerically dominant, accounting for over 90 % of all adult mites. Adults were the dispersive stage, moving mostly within branches, but 12 % of recruitment onto new leaves occurred on previously uninfested branches. Damage incidence and severity were correlated, while older leaves had more damage than younger leaves. "Patch-type" damage was less frequent but was associated with higher mite numbers and damage scores than "spot-type" damage, while leaf discoloration symptoms related mostly to leaf age.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Database assignments for author(s): Helen F. Nahrung

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
damage/losses/economics
surveys/sampling/distribution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Acalox ptychocarpi	Corymbia (crop)	Australia (NT+QLD)
	Rhombacus (genus)	Corymbia (crop)	Australia (NT+QLD)