Proprioseiopsis messor (Wainstein)

Negm, Mohamed W., Alatawi, Fahad J. & Aldryhim, Yousif N., 2012, A new species of Neoseiulus Hughes, with records of seven species of predatory mites associated with date palm in Saudi Arabia (Acari: Phytoseiidae), Zootaxa 3356, pp. 57-64 : 62

Proprioseiopsis messor (Wainstein)

Typhlodromus messor Wainstein, 1960: 688 .

Amblyseius messor . — Athias-Henriot, 1961: 425.

Amblyseius (Amblyseius) messor .— Ueckermann & Loots, 1988: 66.

Proprioseiopsis messor .— Moraes et al., 2004: 180; Chant & McMurtry, 2005: 15; 2007: 89; Moraes et al., 2007: 16 .

Specimens examined. Four females, Dereiya, Riyadh, 29 March 2011, 24°43' N, 46°37' E, alt. 674 m, on Orchid tree, Bauhinia variegata L. ( Fabaceae ) in a date palm orchard.

Remarks. Specimens of Proprioseiopsis messor were found on Bauhinia variegata close to the soil surface. Mites were found associated with thrips (Insecta). The Saudi specimens of P. messor agree with the data provided by Moraes et al. (2007) for two specimens collected in sub-Saharan Africa ( South Africa). This species is a new record for the Saudi mite fauna. It has previously been recorded from Algeria, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, France, Gaza Strip, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Morocco, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Turkmenistan, Ukraine ( Moraes et al., 2004); Argentina ( Ruiz et al., 2005).