The Genus Neoseiulus Hughes (Acari: Phytoseiidae) in Shanxi, China.

The genus Neoseiulus in Shanxi Province is reviewed and seven species are recorded from the province. Four of these are redescribed and detailed taxonomic information are provided. Neoseiulus paraki (Ehara) is recorded for the first time in China and Neoseiulus neoreticuloides (Liang and Hu) is considered a new junior synonym of Neoseiulus bicaudus (Wainstein). Additionally, a diagnostic key to the known species of Neoseiulus in Shanxi is provided.

Description of the ontogenetic changes in the morphology of Neoseiulus cucumeris (Acari: Phytoseiidae).

This paper reports the results of our studies of the morphological ontogeny of Neoseiulus cucumeris (Oudemans) based primarily on specimens reared in a laboratory at Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, Auckland, New Zealand. We describe all postembryonic stages and illustrate them in detail: the larva, protonymph, deutonymph (male and female), and adult female and male.

Discovering and documenting Acari: the first twenty years in Zootaxa.

Acari represent the most diverse group within the arachnids with some 60,000 described species. It is generally believed that most species of mites are waiting to be discovered and described. Zootaxa was the most important journal for mite taxonomy during the last twenty years (2001 to 2020). It published 1305 papers by 1057 authors during these two decades, with descriptions of 3271 new taxa/names, which account for 24.4% of the total indexed in Zoological Record. The numbers of new synonyms of Acari in Zootaxa (334) also accounted for nearly a quarter (24.9%) of the total published during this period. These data indicate that Zootaxa has been an important and leading journal for acarologists to document the diversity of mites and ticks in the world.

ddRAD sequencing: an emerging technology added to the biosecurity toolbox for tracing the origin of brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae).

BACKGROUND: Brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is native to East Asia but has invaded many countries in the world. BMSB is a polyphagous insect pest and causes significant economic losses to agriculture worldwide. Knowledge on the genetic diversity among BMSB populations is scarce but is essential to understand the patterns of colonization and invasion history of local populations. Efforts have been made to assess the genetic diversity of BMSB using partial mitochondrial DNA sequences but genetic divergence on mitochondria is not high enough to precisely accurately identify and distinguish various BMSB populations. Therefore, in this study, we applied a ddRAD (double digest restriction-site associated DNA) sequencing approach to ascertain the genetic diversity of BMSB populations collected from 12 countries (2 native and 10 invaded) across four continents with the ultimate aim to trace the origin of BMSBs intercepted during border inspections and post-border surveillance. RESULT: A total of 1775 high confidence single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified from ddRAD sequencing data collected from 389 adult BMSB individuals. Principal component analysis (PCA) of the identified SNPs indicated the existence of two main distinct genetic clusters representing individuals sampled from regions where BMSB is native to, China and Japan, respectively, and one broad cluster comprised individuals sampled from countries which have been invaded by BMSB. The population genetic structure analysis further discriminated the genetic diversity among the BMSB populations at a higher resolution and distinguished them into five potential genetic clusters. CONCLUSION: The study revealed hidden genetic diversity among the studied BMSB populations across the continents. The BMSB populations from Japan were genetically distant from the other studied populations. Similarly, the BMSB populations from China were also genetically differentiated from the Japanese and other populations. Further genetic structure analysis revealed the presence of at least three genetic clusters of BMSB in the invaded countries, possibly originating via multiple invasions. Furthermore, this study has produced novel set of SNP markers to enhance the knowledge of genetic diversity among BMSB populations and demonstrates the potential to trace the origin of BMSB individuals for future invasion events.

Genetic diversity analysis of brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys based on mitochondrial COI and COII haplotypes.

BACKGROUND: In the past decade, the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) has caused extensive damage to global agriculture. As a high-risk pest for many countries, including New Zealand, it is important to explore its genetic diversity to enhance our knowledge and devise management strategies for BMSB populations. In this study, two mitochondrial genes, Cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) and Cytochrome c oxidase II (COII) were used to explore the genetic diversity among 463 BMSB individuals collected from 12 countries. RESULT: In total, 51 COI and 29 COII haplotypes of BMSB were found, which formed 59 combined haplotypes (5 reported and 54 novel). Of these, H1h1 was the predominant haplotype. The haplotype diversity (Hd) and nucleotide diversity (π) were high while the neutrality (Fu's Fs) values were negative for the BMSB populations in the native countries, China, and Japan. For the BMSB populations from the invaded countries, the Fu's Fs values were negative for populations from Chile, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Turkey, and USA, indicating that those populations are under demographic expansion. In comparison, the Fu's Fs values were positive for the populations from Austria, Serbia, and Slovenia, revealing a potential population bottleneck. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) suggested that significant genetic difference exists among the BMSB populations from China, Japan, and the invasive countries. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that the haplotype diversity of the BMSB populations was high in those two studied countries where BMSB is native to (China and Japan) but low in those countries which have been invaded by the species. The analysis indicated that multiple invasions of BMSB occurred in Europe and the USA. The study also revealed three ancestral lines and most of the novel haplotypes were evolved from them. Moreover, we observed two genetic clusters in the invasive populations that are formed during different invasion events. Our study provided a comprehensive overview on the global haplotypes distribution thus expanding the existing knowledge on BMSB genetic diversity that potentially could play an important role in formulating feasible pest management strategies.

Morphological ontogeny of Neoseiulus zwoelferi (Acari: Phytoseiidae).

The morphological ontogeny of Neoseiulus zwoelferi (Dosse, 1957) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) was studied based on specimens from a laboratory culture originally collected from the leaves of Xanthium sibiricum Patrin ex Widder (Asteraceae) in Taigu County, Shanxi province, China. All life stages including larva, protonymph, deutonymphal female and male, adult female and male were described and illustrated. The morphological characters of Neoseiulus species with both immature and adult stages are discussed. Neoseiulus subreticulatus (Wu, 1987) is considered a junior synonym of Neoseiulus zwoelferi (Dosse, 1957).

Life stages and phylogenetic position of the wool carder bee mite Sennertionyx manicati (Acari: Acaridae).

In mites of the family Acaridae, usually two developmental stages, adult (males, females) and deutonymphal stage (=hypopus) are used for diagnostic descriptions. Because these taxonomically important stages live in different habitats (i.e. deutonymphs are phoretic on a hymenopteran host, while adults live inside the nest of the host), one of these can be missing or they cannot be confidently corelated with each other. Sennertionyx manicati (Acari: Acaridae) was only known from hypopus. Herein, we describe all post-embryonic stages of S. manicati based on material obtained from a nest of Anthidium manicatum in Auckland, New Zealand, and provide a key to all life stages of this species. We also conducted a phylogenetic analysis of the 18S gene and the D2/D3 region of 28S genes from field-collected specimens and GenBank data. The molecular analysis indicated the New Zealand specimen shared the identical 18S and 99.5% identity of the D2D3 region of 28S sequences with S. manicati from Italy, and clustered together in the phylogenetic trees.

Variation among 532 genomes unveils the origin and evolutionary history of a global insect herbivore.

The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella is a cosmopolitan pest that has evolved resistance to all classes of insecticide, and costs the world economy an estimated US $4-5 billion annually. We analyse patterns of variation among 532 P. xylostella genomes, representing a worldwide sample of 114 populations. We find evidence that suggests South America is the geographical area of origin of this species, challenging earlier hypotheses of an Old-World origin. Our analysis indicates that Plutella xylostella has experienced three major expansions across the world, mainly facilitated by European colonization and global trade. We identify genomic signatures of selection in genes related to metabolic and signaling pathways that could be evidence of environmental adaptation. This evolutionary history of P. xylostella provides insights into transoceanic movements that have enabled it to become a worldwide pest.

Ontogenetic changes in the morphology of Neoseiulus barkeri (Acari: Phytoseiidae).

In this paper, we studied the morphological ontogeny of Neoseiulus barkeri Hughes (Acari: Phytoseiidae) based on specimens collected from Southwest University (Chongqing, China) and reared in laboratory of Shanxi Agriculture University.

Ontogenetic stages of Oulenziella bakeri (Hughes) (Acari: Winterschmidtiidae).

The ontogenetic stages of mite family Winterschmidtiidae are rarely studied. Here we provide detailed descriptions and illustrations of all developmental stages of Oulenziella bakeri (Hughes). A comparison of the idiosomal and leg chaetotaxy of all stages are presented. New data on hosts and distribution of O. bakeri are provided.

Amblyseiinae of New Zealand (Acari: Phytoseiidae): redescriptions, rediscoveries, new records, new combinations and keys to species.

This paper presents several new additions and changes to the subfamily Amblyseiinae of New Zealand. Amblyseius lentiginosus Denmark Schicha, 1974 is newly recorded in New Zealand and its males and females are redescribed in detail. Amblyseius obtusus was recollected and a revised key to New Zealand species of Amblyseius is provided. Proprioseiopsis lenis (Corpuz Rimando, 1966) is reported from New Zealand for the first time and its females are described in detail. A key to New Zealand species of Proprioseiopsis is also included. A rare species, Phytoscutus acaridophagus (Collyer, 1964), was rediscovered and its males and females are redescribed in detail. Three species, two in Amblyseius and one in Proprioseiopsis, are transferred to the genus Graminaseius: G. bidibidi (Collyer, 1964) comb. nov., G. martini (Collyer, 1982) comb. nov. and G. exopodalis (Kennett, 1958) comb. nov. Graminaseius has not been previously recorded in New Zealand.

Emendations and updates to "Annotated catalogue of Stigmaeidae (Acari: Prostigmata), with a pictorial key to genera".

An update on "Annotated catalogue of Stigmaeidae (Acari: Prostigmata), with a pictorial key to genera" published in October 2016 is presented. The type species of the genus Ledermuelleriopsis Willmann, 1951 is changed from Ledermuelleriopsis triscutata to Ledermuelleriopsis plumosa Willmann, 1951. Newly published species and new information on old species are provided. Some other informamtion including an erratum is also added.

Phytoseiid mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae) of the Cook Islands.

Little is known about the mite family Phytoseiidae of the Cook Islands, and only five species have previously been recorded from the country. In this work, we present new data on 12 species, including five new records and two new species (Knopkirie flascus sp. nov. and Kuzinellus rarotonga sp. nov.). A key to all species of Phytoseiidae known from the Cook Islands is provided.

Population characteristics of Macrocheles glaber (Acari: Macrochelidae) and Stratiolaelaps scimitus (Acari: Laelapidae) reared on a mushroom fly Coboldia fuscipes (Diptera: Scatopsidae).

Subterranean predatory mites are important biological control agents of pests in soil. In order to understand the population characteristics of two predatory mites, Macrocheles glaber Müller and Stratiolaelaps scimitus Womersley, we studied their development, survival and fecundity data under laboratory conditions using Coboldia fuscipes Meigen as a food source and analyzed them with the age-stage, two-sex life table. Macrocheles glaber had a significantly shorter developmental time, oviposition period, longevity and lower fecundity than those of S. scimitus. The intrinsic rate of increase (r), finite rate of increase (λ), net reproductive rate (R0 ), net predation rate (C0 ), and finite predation rate (ω) of M. glaber were significantly lower than those of S. scimitus. Both population parameters and computer simulation implied that S. scimitus is a potential powerful biocontrol agent compared to M. glaber.

Molecular detection of small hive beetle Aethina tumida Murray (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae): DNA barcoding and development of a real-time PCR assay.

Small hive beetle (SHB), Aethina tumida can feed on honey, pollen and brood in honey bee colonies. It was endemic to Africa, but since 1996 has been detected in a number of countries worldwide, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Italy, Mexico, South Korea, Philippines and the USA where it has had economic effects on local apiculture. To improve SHB identification, we obtained the first reference sequences from the DNA barcoding 5' COI gene region for SHB and some species of the family Nitidulidae associated with beehives. Phylogenetic analysis of SHB COI sequences (3' COI) revealed two divergent lineages, with those from Australia and USA being genetically different from the recent detection in Italy. Many countries, including New Zealand, are currently free from SHB, and require a rapid detection method for biosecurity. Here we present the development and validation of a real-time PCR assay for detection of SHB. The assay showed high specificity and sensitivity for detecting SHB, with no cross-reaction observed with closely related species, such as A. concolor. The real-time PCR is sensitive, detecting the target sequences up to 100 copies/µL. This assay should prove a useful biosecurity tool for rapid detection of SHB worldwide.

Ontogenetic changes in the morphology of Eharius chergui (Acari: Phytoseiidae).

The morphological ontogeny of Eharius chergui (Athias-Henriot, 1960) is described in this paper based on laboratory-reared specimens originating from Marrubium vulgare L. (Lamiaceae) collected in North Island, New Zealand. Malformation was observed in the development of some idiosomal setae in some specimens and was suggested to be related to the host plant M. vulgare.

Annotated catalogue of Stigmaeidae (Acari: Prostigmata), with a pictorial key to genera.

Stigmaeidae is one of the most studied mite families in Acarology, with the number of described species increasing by 44 percent in the last twenty years. To summarize the taxonomic and biological research in this family we compiled a catalogue with annotated information to nomenclature, synonymies, type localities, type depositories, host/habitat, feeding habits (if applicable) and distribution of 577 species in 34 genera (up to 31 July 2016). We also provide an overview of the main revisions and reviews. To facilitate future taxonomic research we present a pictorial key to genera. The following nomenclature changes are made: Raphignathus siculus var. lapponica Trägårdh, 1910 and Wooderia philippica Rimando & Corpuz-Raros, 1997 transferred to Eustigmaeus Berlese, Mullederia makilingae Rimando & Corpuz-Raros, 1996 transferred to Indostigmaeus Gupta & Ghosh.

[Effects of UV Radiation on the Physicochemical Properties and Coagulation Properties of Humic Acid Solution].

To investigate the mechanism of UV light in promoting the removal of humic acid ( HA) by coagulation, the variations of the physical and chemical properties of the HA solution before and after UV light radiation were investigated. The effects of the changes in water quality conditions on the removal performance of HA in coagulation were also observed. Experimental results showed that except zeta potential, pH, chromaticity and viscosity of the HA solution exhibited varying degrees of decline after UV radiation. Further study showed that the impact of changes in viscosity of the solution on humic acid coagulation performance was relatively small. Under acidic conditions, the coagulation performance of HA significantly increased. The increase of zeta potential led to easy gathering of colloidal particles and improved the coagulation performance. Furthermore, except for HA with relative molecular mass of between (10-30) x 10³ and less than 10³, there was little variation in the proportion of low molecular weight HA, which may be an important reason that the coagulation performance of the humic acid solution increased after UV radiation.