Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot

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 : 27-29

Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot

( Fig. 16 )

Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot, 1962: 5 ; Swirski et al. 1998: 102; Chant & McMurtry, 2004: 201. Typhlodromips swirskii, Moraes et al. 2004: 227 .

Amlyseius (Amblyseius) rykei Pritchard & Baker, 1962: 249 (new synonym)

FEMALE—(Specimens measured—Benin: 2; Burundi: 1; Ghana: 4; Democratic Republic of Congo: holotype of A. (A.) rykei ; Israel: 2, indicated in the text in curly brackets). Idiosomal setal pattern 10A:9B/JV-3:ZV.

Dorsum ( Fig. 16 A)—Dorsal shield mostly smooth, with some lateral striae anterior to S2; 338(326–352) [345] {347} long and 205(202–208) [210] {216} wide. Setae j1 29(24–32) [31] {32}, j3 53(48–56) [50] {54}, j4 8 [7] {8}, j5 8 [6] {7}, j6 9(8–10) [9] {9}, J2 9(8–10) [9] {9}, J5 7(6–8) [8] {8}, z2 12(11–16) [14] {13}, z4 13(10–16) [13] {14}, z5 7(6–8) [8] {7}, Z1 9(8–10) [9] {10}, Z4 73(69–78) [69] {72}, Z5 110(106–115) [110] {116}, s4 75 (70–82) [72] {79}, S2 13 (11–14) [14] {19}, S4 9 (8–10) [9] {13}, S5 7 (6–8) [8] {11}, r3 20(19–21) [20] {25}, R1 11(10–13) [13] {15}. Setae smooth, except Z4 and Z5, serrate.

Peritreme—Extending beyond level of j1.

Venter ( Fig. 16 B)—Sternal shield mostly smooth, with few lateral striae, posterior margin straight; distances between St1-St3 62 [63] {66}, St2-St2 70(69–70) [75] {77}. Genital shield smooth; distance between St5-St5 73(67–78) [75] {75}. Ventrianal shield smooth, subpentagonal, slightly constricted at level of preanal pores, anterior margin slightly convex, 115(110–120) [118] {131} long, 79(72–86) [78] {93} wide at level of Zv2 and 79(78–80) [81] {88} wide at level of anus; preanal pores elliptical, mesad and slightly posterior to Jv2. Two pairs of metapodal shields.

Chelicera ( Fig. 16 C)—Movable digit 33(33–35) {34} long with 3 teeth; fixed digit 28(28–30) {29} long with 9–10 {9} teeth and a pilus dentilis.

Spermatheca ( Fig. 16 D)—Calyx cup-shaped, 10 {8–9} long; atrium nodular.

Legs—Sharp-tipped macrosetae: Sge I 24 [24] {27–28}, Sge II 28 (27–29) [24] {31–34}, Sge III 32 [31] {34–36}, Sti III 22 (21–24) [22] {25–26}, Sge IV 61 (56–66) [60] {61–62}, Sti IV 44 (40–51) [41] {43–48}, St IV 59 (53–64) [56] {64–65}; presence of a prominent erect seta at base of tarsus I.

MALE—(Specimen measured—Ghana: 1).

Dorsum—Dorsal shield pattern as in female, 258 long and 190 wide. Setae j1 25, j3 43, j4 7, j5 7, j6 8, J2 7, J5 8, z2 13, z4 13, z5 6, Z1 8, Z4 52, Z5 80, s4 59, S2 14, S4 9, S5 9, r3 20, R1 14. Setae smooth, except Z4 and Z5, serrate.

Peritreme—Extending forward to level between j1 and j3.

Venter ( Fig. 16 G)—Ventrianal shield subtriangular, reticulate anteriorly to preanal pores, 113 long, 145 wide at the anterior corners, with 5 pairs of lyrifissures (2 anterior to Jv1, 1 lateral and slightly posterior to Jv1, 1 lateral and slightly posterior to Zv2 and 1 lateral and posterior to Jv2); preanal pores elliptical and posteromesad to Jv2.

Spermatodactyl ( Fig. 16 F)—L-shaped; shaft 19 long.

Legs—Sharp-tipped macrosetae: Sge II 25, Sge III 24, Sti III 20, Sge IV 39, Sti IV 35 and St IV 50.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED—Four females, Benin: Département de l’Atacora, 14 km NW Djougou, on Gmelina arborea , 20-XI-1989, unknown collector; Glazoue, on unknown plant, 10-VI-1991, A. Onzo. Two females, Burundi: 16 km NW Bujumbura, on Solanum capsicoides , 11-XII-1989, J.S. Yaninek. Holotype female of A. (A.) rykei , Democratic Republic of Congo ( Belgian Congo): Lake Edward, Kivu, on Hoslundia opposite , 15-IV-1955, E.W. Baker. Six females and 1 male, Ghana: Legon University, Accra, on Euphorbia heterophylla , 08-XI-1989, J.S. Yaninek; Legon University, Accra, on Lantana camara , 8-XI-1989, G.J. Moraes; Somanya, on Manihot esculenta , 13-XI-1989, unknown collector; 3 km W Anomabu, on unknown weed, 2-IV-1990, B. Haruna and K. Antwi. Four females, Israel, Magen-Michael, on Citrus sp., 18-IX-1963, A. Poroth; Berot-Yzhak, on Citrus sp., 25-IX-1963, A. Porath. Two females, Kenya: Mwea, on Lycopersicum esculentum , 28-XII-1999, I. Sarr. Two females, Tanzania: 6 km N Songa, on Securinega virosa , 18-VIII- 1994, A. Onzo.

REMARKS—The specimens collected in this study seem close to the descriptions of A. rykei and A. swirskii . One of us (GJM) was able to examine the holotype female of the former, but we were not able to borrow types of the latter for examination. Based on the exam of two female specimens collected from Israel (the country from where A. swirskii was described), that had been identified by E. Swirski as A. swirskii , we concluded that A. rykei is a junior synonym of A. swirskii .

WORLD DISTRIBUTION—Azerbaijan, Cape Verde, Egypt, Gaza Strip, Georgia, Israel, Italy, Turkey and Yemen (for specimens mentioned as A. swirskii ); Benin, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, India, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zimbabwe (for specimens mentioned as A. rykei ).

Figures

FIGURE 16. Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot: A. Female dorsal shield; B. Female ventral surface; C. Female chelicera; D. Spermatheca; E. Female leg IV; F. Spermatodactyl; G. Male ventrianal shield.