Amblyseius sundi Pritchard & Baker

Zannou, Ignace D., De, Gilberto J., Ueckermann, Eddie A., Oliveira, Anibal R., Yaninek, John S. & Hanna, Rachid, 2007, Phytoseiid mites of the subtribe Amblyseiina (Acari: Phytoseiidae: Amblyseiini) from sub-Saharan Africa, Zootaxa 1550, pp. 1-47 : 25-27

Amblyseius sundi Pritchard & Baker

( Fig. 15 )

Amblyseius (Amblyseius) sundi Pritchard & Baker, 1962: 244 .

Amblyseius sundi, Moraes et al. 1989a: 97 ; Chant &McMurtry, 2004: 212; Moraes et al. 2004: 52. Amblyseius (Proprioseiopsis) sundi, Matthysse & Denmark, 1981: 344.

FEMALE—(Specimens measured—Burundi: 1; Ghana: 3; Ivory Cost:1; Kenya: 4; Malawi: 1; Rwanda: 2; Sierra Leone: 1; Uganda: 1). Idiosomal setal pattern 10A:8A/JV3:ZV.

Dorsum ( Fig. 15 A)—Dorsal shield smooth, 373(318–421) [348] long and 272(248–304) [266] wide. Setae j1 39(32–45) [37], j3 48(40–56) [50], j4 5(4–5) [2], j5 4(3–5) [2], j6 6(5–8) [4], J2 6(5–8) [5], J5 7(6–8) [6], z2 7(5–8) [8], z4 7(5–14) [6], z5 5(4–5) [4], Z4 172(144–208) [174], Z5 445(366–547) [450], s4 165(133–206) [158], S2 7 (5–8) [8], S4 7 (6–8) [6], S5 6 (5–8) [6], r3 14(10–16) [13], R1 8(5–11) [8]. Setae smooth, except Z4 and Z5, serrate. Seta Z1 absent.

Peritreme—Extending forward to level of j1.

Venter ( Fig. 15 B)—Sternal shield mostly smooth, with few lateral striae; posterior margin almost straight; distances between St1-St3 69(62–82) [66], St2-St2 79(73–88) [78]. Genital shield smooth; distance between St5-St5 78(72–85) [78]. Ventrianal shield smooth, vase-shaped, anterior margin slightly convex, 122(100– 141) [126] long, 73(64–85) [70] wide at level of Zv2 and 80(69–91) [79] wide at level of anus; preanal pores elliptical mesad and in line with Jv2. Two pairs of metapodal shields.

Chelicera ( Fig. 15 C)—Movable digit 38(37–39) [36] long, with 3 teeth; fixed digit 34(33–36) [34] long, with 13 to 14 [12–13] teeth and a pilus dentilis.

Spermatheca ( Fig. 15 D)—Calyx tubular, 40(34–48) [31] long; atrium as wide as calyx.

Legs—Sharp-tipped macrosetae: Sge I 74 (61–96) [72], Sge II 49 (40–59) [48], Sge III 72 (50–88) [66], Sti III 56 (43–67) [53], Sge IV 209(157–270) [186], Sti IV 156(112–208) [134], St IV 99 (69–141) [85]); presence of a prominent erect seta at base of tarsus I.

MALE—Not encountered in this study.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED—Two females, Benin: Ouidah, Department of Atlantic, on Elaeis guineensis , 28-X-1989, G.J. Moraes. One female, Burundi: 17 km SW Makamba, on unknown plant, 14-XII-1989, J.S. Yaninek. Three females, Cameroon: 37 km E Bertoua, East Province, on E. guineensis , 3-II-1991, A. Onzo; 52 km N Kribi, Southern Province, on Sida corymbosa , 8-II-1991, A. Onzo. Five females, Ghana: 28 km S Dunkwa, Western Region, on unknown plant, 11-XI-1989, J.S. Yaninek; 6 km N Assin Darmang, Central Region, on Citrus sp., 4-IV-1990, B. Haruna and K. Antwi. Two females, Ivory Coast: 20 km SW Yopougon, on Eucommia ulmoides , 8-I-1999, B. Ojo. Six females, Kenya: 14 km W Kwale, Coastal Province, on Ceiba pentandra , 27-XI-1989, J.S. Yaninek; 27.9 km S Mombasa, Coastal Province, on Citrus sp., and on unknown plant, 28-XI-1989, J.S. Yaninek. Two females, Malawi: 11 km W Nkhata-Bay, Northern Province, on Mangifera indica , 18-V-2001, I.D. Zannou. Two females, Mozambique: Movia, Nacala-Velha, Nampula, on Anacardium occidentale , 4-V-2002, I.D. Zannou. Three females, Rwanda: 5 km N Ruhengeri, on Markhamia lutea , 8-XII -1989, J.S. Yaninek; 35 km SE Ruhengeri, on Persea Americana , 8-XII-1989, J.S. Yaninek. Two females, Sierra Leone: Bo China farm, on Anacardium occidentale , 14-XII-1991, B. Kristensen. Two females, Uganda: 25 km N Bundibugyo, on E. guineensis , 9-X-1990, J.S. Yaninek.

REMARKS—Most of the specimens collected are larger than the holotype of A. sundi ; concurrently, they also have setae Z4, s4 and leg macrosetae distinctly longer; the largest differences refer to macrosetae of leg IV, which are, on average, ca. 40% longer. An analysis of the holotypes of A. sundi , Amblyseius parasundi Blommers, 1974 and Amblyseius solus Denmark & Matthysse, in Matthysse & Denmark (1981), showed that they are very similar, suggesting that those species could be synonyms. The first of those species was described from Democratic Republic of Congo and has been reported from several other countries in the African continent, as well as in Cape Verde and Madagascar. The second was described from Madagascar and has never been reported from other countries. The third was described from Nigeria and has never been reported later in the literature. According to Blommers (1974), A. parasundi differs from A. sundi by its shorter Z5 and shorter macrosetae on leg IV, and by being thelytokous. The holotype of A. sundi has j3, Z5, s4 and macrosetae of leg IV ca. 20% longer as well as macrosetae of leg III at least 30% longer than the holotype of A. solus . However, given the variation of the measurements of the specimens collected in this study, we feel that those differences could represent intra-specific variation, and thus, A. solus is not included in the key provided later in this paper.

The specimens from Burundi, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Sierra Leone and Uganda are smaller than the others examined in this study, whereas those from Kenya, Malawi and Rwanda have the longest setae Z4, Z5 and s4.

WORLD DISTRIBUTION—Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Ivory-Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leon, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Figures

FIGURE 15. Amblyseius sundi Pritchard & Baker (Female): A. Dorsal shield; B. Ventral surface; C. Chelicera; D. Spermatheca; E. Leg IV.