Euseius hima (Pritchard & Baker)

Kreiter, Serge, Payet, Rose-My, Douin, Martial, Fontaine, Olivier, Jacques, Fillâtre & Bellec, Fabrice Le, 2020, Phytoseiidae of La Réunion Island (Acari: Mesostigmata): three new species and two males described, new synonymies, and new records, Acarologia 60 (1), pp. 111-195 : 171

Euseius hima (Pritchard & Baker)

Amblyseius (Amblyseius) hima Pritchard & Baker 1962: 257 ; Blommers 1976: 89.

Euseius hima, Moraes et al. 1986: 46, 2004a: 71 ; Quilici et al. 2000: 99; Chant & McMurtry 2005b: 215, 2007: 121.

This species was recorded from several countries of Sub-Saharan Africa but also from Madagascar, India ( Demite et al. 2019) and La Réunion ( Quilici et al. 2000; Demite et al. 2019). All details of collections were provided in the paper but measurements of specimens collected and identified were not published. Measurements of specimens collected during this study are provided in table 29. The biology of this species remains totally unknown.

Specimens examined: 26 ♀♀ + 4 ♂♂ + 16 im. in total, 15 ♀♀ + 4 ♂♂ measured. Le 19 e – Plaine des Caffres, JL Robert farm (aasl 1000 m, Long 55°32’9” E, Lat 21°14’16” S), 1 ♀ on L. camara , 15/12/2015 ; Le Tampon – Bras creux (aasl 888 m, Long 55°32’39” E, Lat 21°15’24” S), 1 ♀ on Obetia ficifolia Gaudich. , 18/12/2015; Le Tampon – Ligne des 400 (aasl 463 m, Long 55°30’36” E, Lat 21°17’24” S), 14 ♀♀ + 1 ♂ + 8 im. on Ipomoea sp., 17/12/2016 and 10/1/2017 ; 5 ♀♀ on Spathodea campanulata P. Beauv. , 12/1/2017; 3 ♀♀ + 1 ♂ on Solanum wrightii Benth. , 18/1/2017; Forêt de Sans Souci – Ilet Alcide , (aasl 1452 m, Long 55°22’07” E, Lat 21°01’17” S), 1 ♂ on C. glauca , 1 ♂ on A. theiformis , 18/11/2018 ; Saint-Pierre – Armeflhor Station (aasl 450 m, Long 55°31’9” E, Lat 21°18’14” S), 2 ♀♀ + 5 im. on Terminalia benzoe Pers. , 15/12/2015 .

Remarks: measurements of morphological characters of females of E. hima fit very well with those provided in the literature ( Table 29 ), especially with those of specimens of various countries in Africa published in Moraes et al. (2001).

For the males ( Table 29 ), setae Z5 is shorter and ventrianal shield is longer in specimens from La Réunion Island.