Impact of Aceria alhagi (Acari: Eriophyidae) as a potential biological control agent on the invasive weed Alhagi maurorum (Fabaceae) in its native range.

Camelthorn, Alhagi maurorum Medik. (Fabaceae, Leguminosae), a native component of the Asian flora, is invasive in Australia, South Africa and the USA where it is considered a noxious weed in several states. To date there is no biological control program against this weed; however, initial investigations into potential biocontrol agents revealed an eriophyid mite, Aceria alhagi Vidovic & Kamali, causing considerable damage in the native range. The mite attacks the growing tips as well as the flowers of the plants, not only reducing height and plant vigor but also reducing seed set. To assess the host range and impact of this potential biological control agent, on the target weed, no-choice tests as well as an open-field impact experiment were conducted at the research farm of the School of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran, over 2 years (2018 and 2019). Results from the no-choice tests suggest that A. alhagi poses negligible risk to the non-target plants tested in this study. In the first year of the open field impact test, plants did not flower; however, plant height was significantly reduced by mite attack. In the second year, significant reductions in plant biomass (26%), seed production (95%) and photosynthesis (53%) were observed in response to mite attack that would potentially limit the competitiveness of camelthorn as well as long-distance dispersal through seed in the invaded range. These results suggest that A. alhagi is a promising candidate for the biological control of camelthorn and should be prioritized for any future studies, expanding on the host range testing and safety.

Two new eriophyoid mites from Iran in the subfamilies Phyllocoptinae and Eriophyinae (Acari: Trombidiformes: Eriophyidae).

Two new species of eriophyoid mites from Fars province, Iran, are described and illustrated, namely: Tetra aparinea n. sp. causing distortion of Galium aparine L. (Rubiaceae) and representing the first record of the genus Tetra on plants of the family Rubiaceae; and Acaralox shiraziensis n. sp. from Tragopogon graminifolius DC. (Asteraceae), causing no visible damage except for slight wilting.

An annotated checklist of oribatid mites (Acari: Oribatida) of Iran.

Oribatid mites (Acari: Oribatida) are one of the largest and dominating groups of soil inhabitants that play an important role in the formation and fertilization processes of the soils. In the present paper, a list of oribatid mites of Iran (excluding Astigmata) is present based mainly on the collected and identified species and on literature records since 1961. In total, 380 species belonging to 191 genera and 86 families have been recorded and these are listed along with their known geographical distributions and localities in Iran. The following seven species Sellnickochthonius cricoides (Weis-Fogh, 1948), Hypochthoniella minutissima (Berlese, 1904), Nothrus silvestris Nicolet, 1855, Hemileius (Hemileius) initialis (Berlese, 1908), Punctoribates (Punctoribates) punctum (C. L. Koch, 1839), Ceratozetes conjunctus Mihelcic, 1956, Eupelops tardus (C. L. Koch, 1835) and Pelopsis Hall, 1911 are recorded for the first time from Iran. The closing date for publications included in this list was 15 January 2015.