Proprioseiopsis messor (Wainstein)

(Figs 20–26)

Typhlodromus messor Wainstein, 1960: 688; Hirschmann, 1962: 2.

Amblyseius messor .—Athias - Henriot, 1961: 426; 1966: 190; Livshitz & Kuznetsov, 1972: 21; Gilyarov et al., 1977: 385; Wainstein, 1977b: 239; Schicha, 1983: 111; Swirski et al., 1998: 101.

Amblyseius (Amblyseius) messor .— Ehara, 1966: 22; Arutunjan, 1977: 34; Ueckermann & Loots, 1988: 66.

Amblyseius (Amblyseiulus) messor .—Arutunjan, 1970: 16.

Proprioseiopsis (Amblyseiulus) messor . — Karg, 1989a: 212.

Proprioseiopsis messor .— Moraes et al., 1986: 117; 2004: 180; Chant & McMurtry, 2005a: 15; 2007: 89; Faraji et al., 2007: 235; Moraes et al., 2007: 16; Guanilo et al., 2008c: 9; Papadoulis et al., 2009: 69; Ferragut et al., 2010: 98; Negm et al., 2012a: 62; 2012b: 265; Barbar, 2013: 252; Tixier et al., 2013: 113.

Amblyseius (Amblyseius) apheles van der Merwe, 1968: 121. (synonymy by Ueckermann & Loots, 1988: 88).

Amblyseius lindquisti Schuster & Pritchard, 1963: 246; Athias-Henriot, 1966: 190; Zaher, 1986: 101. (synonymy by Abbasova, 1972: 18).

Proprioseiopsis (Amblyseiulus) lindquisti . — Karg, 1989a: 212.

Proprioseiopsis lindquisti . — Moraes et al., 1986: 117; Congdon, 2002: 13; Moraes et al., 2004: 181; Chant & McMurtry, 2005a: 15; 2007: 89.

Female (three specimens).

Dorsal shield mostly smooth, with sparse striae anterolaterally to s4; 482 (460–497) long and 316 (312–325) wide (Fig. 20), with 16 pairs of setae, seven pairs of pores and seventeen pairs of lyrifissures. Setae j1 36 (36), j3 64 (55–73), j4 4 (4), j5 4 (4–5), j6 7 (7–8), J5 16 (16), z2 41 (38–44), z4 20 (18–21), z5 5 (5), Z1 11 (10–13), Z4 142 (138–146), Z5 241 (239–242), s4 117 (112–127), S2 15 (13–18), S4 14 (13–16), S5 27 (26–29), r3 30 (29–31), R1 18 (18). All dorsal setae smooth, except Z4 and Z5, slightly serrate. Peritreme extending forward to level of j1.

Venter (Fig. 21). Sternal shield mostly smooth, with few anterolateral striae, with three pairs of setae and two pairs of lyrifissures. Distances between st1–st1 60 (57–62), st2–st2 80 (70–88), st3–st3 101 (96–107), st4–st4 122 (117–127). Genital shield smooth, with lateral extensions; distance between st5–st5 110 (107–112). Ventrianal shield subpentagonal, with transverse striae; 158 (151–166) long, 156 (151–164) wide at level of ZV2 and 143 (135–148) wide at level of anus; with three pairs of pre-anal setae and a pair of pre-anal pores. Seta JV5 99 (96–101). Ventral setae smooth. Two pairs of metapodal plates.

Spermatheca (Fig. 23). Calyx of spermatheca bell-shaped, 25 (23–26) long; atrium attached directly to calyx.

Gnathosoma. Corniculi slightly convergent distally; basal width of corniculus 5, distance between bases of corniculi 10. Movable cheliceral digit 33 (31–34), with one tooth; fixed digit 34 (34) long, with three teeth (Fig. 22).

Legs. Macrosetae sharp-tipped: Sge III 51 (49–52), Sge IV 101 (96–104), Sti IV 79 (73–83), St IV 84 (78–88) (Fig. 24); chaetotaxy of genu II 2, 2/1, 2/0, 1; genu III 1, 2/1, 2/0, 1.

Male (one specimen).

Dorsal shield pattern as in female; 406 long and 260 wide. Setae j1 26, j3 47, j4 5, j5 4, j6 8, J5 13, z2 34, z4 21, z5 4, Z1 9, Z4 107, Z5 153, s4 104, S2 10, S4 10, S5 16, r3 23, R1 18. All dorsal setae smooth, except Z4 and Z5, slightly serrate. Peritreme extending to region between j1 and j3.

Venter. Distances between st1–st1 61, st2–st2 73, st3–st3 69, st4–st4 60, st5–st5 52. Ventrianal shield subtriangular, strongly reticulate; 164 long and 203 wide at anterior corners (Fig. 26); with three pairs of pre-anal setae, a pair of pre-anal pores and four pairs of lyrifissures. Seta JV5 70.

Gnathosoma. Movable cheliceral digit 26 long, with one tooth; fixed digit 24 long, with three teeth; dorsal and lateral lyrifissures distinct. Shaft of spermatodactyl 13, foot 23 long (Fig. 25).

Legs. Macrosetae sharp-tipped: Sge III 31, Sge IV 81, Sti IV 52, St IV 65; chaetotaxy of genua II and III as in female.

Specimens examined. Three females and one male from soil under mango tree, at Ismailia governorate, June 1980 (coll. M.A. Zaher).

Previous records from Egypt. Asyut, Beni Suef, Damietta and Qualyubia governorates (Nasr et al., 2011); Dakahlia and Ismailia governorates (Zaher, 1986); Monufia governorate (Zaher, 1986; Nasr et al., 2011).

Remarks. Proprioseiopsis messor was originally described from the holotype female collected in the Democratic Republic of Georgia. The original description was rather detailed, with illustrations and setal measurements. Amblyseius lindquisti was originally described from the holotype female and two paratype females collected in California, USA. The original description was also quite detailed, with illustrations and setal measurements. The longer setae of the females examined are 1.2–1.6 times as long as the corresponding measurements provided by Ferragut et al. (2010). This difference could be due to the larger size of specimens examined in this study. Measurements of the specimens examined are close to those provided by Zaher (1986).