Taxonomic Position

Cohort Gamasina

    Subcohort Dermanyssiae

  Superfamily Phytoseioidea

Family Phytoseiidae Berlese

Subfamily Phytoseiinae Berlese

Chantia Pritchard & Baker, 1962

 

Diagnostic characters:

• Phytoseiidae with opisthonotal setae except R1, J5, Z4-5 suppressed

• All dorsal setae except J5 paddle-shaped

•  r3 on dorsal shield, R1 in soft cuticle

• JV5 paddle-shaped; seta s6 absent but z6 present, z3 present

• Z4-5  with insertions distant

• Genu II with 6 setae; genu III with 6 setae; no marcosetae on legs.

 

 

Key to genera:

 

1.  Seta z3 absent, s6 present ..... Platyseiella Muma

-    Seta z3 present, s6 present or absent ..... 2

 

2.  Seta z6 absent, s6 present; dorsal shield setae barbed, usually acicular, fine to thickened ..... Phytoseius

-    Seta z6 present, s6 absent; dorsal shield setae spatulate/ paddle-shaped ..... Chantia Pritchard & Baker

 

Similar taxa.  Dorsal chaetomes composed of spatulate setae occur sporadically in other groups, but only C. paradoxa has such a highly reduced chaetome with only 4 pairs of opisthonotal setae.

 

Ecology & Distribution. Only one specimen is known from a collection in central Africa.

  

References

Chant DA. & McMurtry JA. 1994.  A review of the subfamilies  Phytoseiinae and Typhlodrominae (Acari: Phytoseiidae).  International Journal of Acarology 20: 223-310.