Hypoaspis spiculifer Berlese

Hypoaspis spiculifer Berlese, 1918: 118 .

Hypoaspis spiculifer: Ryke, 1963: 5 .

Hypoaspis (Hypoaspis) spiculifer: Van Aswegen & Loots, 1970: 189 . Hypoaspis (Gaeolaelaps) spiculifera (sic): Karg, 1989a: 118.

Specimens examined: Site 94­31, 1 female.

Hypoaspis spiculifer was described from East Africa (Berlese, 1918), was later collected from a straw heap at Potchefstroom by Ryke (1963), and from a tree stump at Potchefstroom by Van Aswegen & Loots (1970). It is assumed to be predatory on the basis of analogy with other species of Hypoaspis, but it is obviously rare, and unlikely to be important in regulating populations of its prey.