Neoseiulus cecileae Kreiter

Kreiter, Serge, Tixier, Marie-Stéphane & Etienne, Jean, 2006, New records of phytoseiid mites (Acari: Mesostigmata) from the French Antilles, with description of Neoseiulus cecileae sp. nov., Zootaxa 1294, pp. 1-27 : 12-15

Neoseiulus cecileae Kreiter sp. nov. ( Figs. 1–7 )

Material examined

Holotype: female, Guadeloupe, St François, Les Hauts, on Sideroxylon obovatum , 2 April 99. Paratypes, 21Ψ, 4ɗ, on 4 slide preparations. Deposited in the ENSAM—INRA Acarology collection.

Description

Adult Female ( Figs 1 – 4 ) (n = 21) Dorsum ( Fig. 1 ). Dorsal shield 283 – 313 long and 168 – 193 wide, slightly reticulated in the anterior part of the dorsum, with 3 solenostomes (gd3, 6 and 9), 9 pairs of poroids, 17 pairs of dorsal setae and 2 pairs of sub­lateral setae: j 1 13 – 18, j 3 18 – 20, j 4 10 – 15, j5 13, j 6 15 – 18, J 2 20 – 25, J 5 10 – 12, z 2 13 – 20, z 4 15 – 18, z 5 13 – 15, Z 1 20 – 25, Z4 45 – 50, Z5 43 – 55, s 4 18 – 25, S 2 23 – 33, S 4 20 – 23, S 5 18 – 20, r 3 15 – 20, R 1 18 – 20. All setae smooth except Z4 and Z5 which are serrated.

Peritreme ( Fig. 1 ). Extending forward to bases of j1.

Ven te r ( Fig. 2 ). All shields very slightly reticulated. Sternal shield large, with 3 pairs of setae and 2 pair of pores; 1 pair of sternal setae on small metasternal shields with one pore, on or outside the metasternal shield; posterior margin straight to concave. Distances between st1 – st3 55 – 63, st2 – st2 65 – 70, st5 – st5 60 – 68. Two pairs of metapodal shields 15 – 20 long, 3 – 5 wide for the larger, 5 – 8 long and very thin for the smaller. Ventri­anal shield with 3 pairs of pre­anal setae, JV1, JV2 and ZV2, and one pair of large cylindrical pre­anal pores. Membrane surrounding ventri­anal shield with 4 pairs of setae ZV1, ZV3, JV4 and JV5, and 4 pairs of round to oblong poroids; ventri­anal shield 88 – 100 long, 78 – 85 wide at level of anterior corners, and 50 – 60 wide at level of anus. JV5 33 – 45 long.

Legs ( Fig. 3 ). Legs IV with 3 macrosetae, genu 33 – 40, tibia 20 – 28, basitarsus 40 – 48. Chaetotactic formula of genu II: 1 – 2/0, 2/0 – 1; genu III: 1 – 2/0, 2/0 – 1. Length of leg I: 255 – 285, II: 225 – 258, III: 217 – 250, IV: 265 – 313.

Chelicera ( Fig. 4 ). Fixed digit 23 – 30 with 7 teeth; and movable digit 28 – 35 with two long and one short teeth. Pilus dentilis not visible.

Spermatheca ( Fig. 5 ). Cervix shallowly domed, 8 – 10 wide and 5 – 10 long, with a small atrium in the basis and a visible long ductus minor.

Adult Male ( Figs. 6 – 7 ) (n = 4)

Dorsum. Dorsal shield as for female, 228 – 238 long and 140 – 150 wide. Setae j 1 13 – 15, j3 18, j 4 13 – 15, j 5 13 – 15, j 6 15 – 18, J 2 20 – 25, J 5 10 – 12, z 2 13 – 20, z 4 15 – 18, z 5 13 – 15, Z 1 20 – 25, Z4 45 – 50, Z5 43 – 55, s 4 18 – 25, S 2 23 – 33, S 4 20 – 23, S 5 18 – 20, r 3 15 – 20, R 1 18 – 20.

Peritreme. Extending forward to bases of j1.

Ven te r ( Fig. 6 ). All shields very slightly reticulated. Sternal shield with 5 pairs of setae and 2 pairs of pores. Distances between st1 – st3 55, st2 – st2 55 – 58, st5 – st5 60 – 68. Ventrianal shield not fused with peritremal shields, with 3 pairs of pre­anal setae, JV1, JV2 and ZV2, one pair of large cylindrical pre­anal pores, and four pairs of poroids. Membrane surrounding ventri­anal shield with 1 pair of setae JV5, level with anal opening, poroids absent; ventri­anal shield 88 long, 108 – 120 wide at level of anterior corners and 53 – 63 at level of anus.

Legs. Three macrosetae on leg IV, genu 25 – 28, tibia 20, basitarsus 33 – 35. Chaetotactic formula of genu II and genu III as for female. Length of leg I: 228 – 238, II: 200 – 213, III: 200 – 203, IV: 233 – 255.

Chelicera ( Fig. 7 ). Spermatodactyl with a large oblong toe at end of foot, shaft 15 long.

Notes

This species belongs to the cucumeris species group of Athias­Henriot (1957) and to the cucumeris species subgroup of Chant & McMurtry (2003a), which comprises 98 species ( Chant & McMurtry, 2003a). It resembles Neoseiulus caribbeanus (de Leon), especially in the anterior reticulation of the dorsum, the shape of the spermatheca and of the spermatodactyl. It differs however from this species in many characters: length of dorsal setae longer in N. cecileae , especially S­ and Z­series, except for j1 and j3 which are smaller in the new species, and j3 and j4 which are similar in the two species; metapodal shields which are not coalesced in the new species; macrosetae of leg IV considerably longer in the new species; number of teeth in the fixed digit which seems smaller in the new species, even though this number is missing from the description of N. caribbeanus (de Leon, 1965a). The new species is also similar to Neoseiulus queenslandensis (McMurtry & Schicha) in relation to setal length, except that Z4, S5, r3 and R1 are longer in the new species. However, it differs from N. queenslandensis by the following characters: the absence of reticulation of the whole dorsum, the number of solenostomes, which is three in the new species and four in N. queenslandensis , the number of setae on the sternal shield, which is of three for the new species and of two for N. queenslandensis , the absence of a median lobe in the posterior margin of the sternal shield of N. cecileae , the length of macrosetae of the leg IV, which are longer in the new species, the shape of the spermatheca, the atrium being under the cervix and not incorporated into it. The spermatheca of the new species is very similar to that of N. tunus de Leon and N. neotunus ( Denmark & Muma) but the lengths of the setae are very different.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Neoseiulus cecileae sp. nov., female, dorsal shield.

FIGURE 2. Neoseiulus cecileae sp. nov., female, ventral idiosoma.

FIGURES 3 – 5. Neoseiulus cecileae sp. nov., female. 3. Macrosetae on leg IV. 4. Chelicera. 5. Spermatheca.

FIGURES 6 – 7. Neoseiulus cecileae sp. nov., male. 6. Ventri­anal shield. 7. Spermatodactyl.