Allopygmephorus spinisetus Khaustov & Sazhnev, 2016

Navabi, Amin, Hajiqanbar, Hamidreza & Mortazavi, Abdolazim, 2018, New records of the genus Allopygmephorus (Acari: Neopygmephoridae) with a list of the species of the family Neopygmephoridae in Iran, Persian Journal of Acarology 7 (4), pp. 315-322 : 316

Allopygmephorus spinisetus Khaustov & Sazhnev, 2016

World distribution – RUSSIA, associated with Heterocerus fenestratus (Thunberg, 1784) (Col.: Heteroceridae ) ( Khaustov & Sazhnev 2016); IRAN, associated with Drasterius bimaculatus (Rossi, 1790) (Col.: Elateridae ) and Augyles sp. (Col.: Heteroceridae ) (current study).

Material examined – Borujerd, western Iran, 10 and three females from ventral body surfaces of two Drasterius bimaculatus and one Augyles respectively. The host insects attracted to light traps during an overnight sampling around pasture plants and apple gardens of the Sheykh Miri-ye Sadat village, near Borujerd, 2 August 2016.

Remarks

New record for mite fauna of Asia including Iran. Also, it is a new association between this genus and beetles of the family Elateridae . So far, beetles of families Hydrophilidae (superfimily Hydrophiloidea), Dryopidae (superfamily Byrrhoidea ) and Heteroceridae have been reported as hosts of some Allopygmephorus spp. ( Krczal 1959; Khaustov & Hajiqanbar 2006; Katlav et al. 2015; Khaustov & Sazhnev 2016). Some references mention the presence of D. bimaculatus on herbaceous plants near streams ( Sert & Kabalak 2011) and it almost confirms association of Allopygmephorus spp. with host beetles living near wetlands.