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Arctoseius
Taxonomic Position
Cohort Gamasina
Subcohort Dermanyssiae
Superfamily Ascoidea
Family: Ascidae Voigts & Oudemans
Subfamily: Arctoseiinae
Arctoseius Thor
Diagnostic characters:
Arctoseiinae with entire or shallowly incised dorsal shield, vertex not strongly arched downward, setae j1 visible from above
Anterior extremities of peritremes not recurved
Tarsi II-IV with neither of dorso-lateral subapical setae slender and elongate
Palp tarsus without macroseta.
Similar taxa not in Lucid key (see below): Arctopsis Athias-Henriot, Also see key to small Rhodacarus-like mites.
Similar taxa in key. Iphidozercon Berlese, Neojordensia Athias-Henriot, Xenoseius Lindquist & Evans, Zerconopsis Hull, Arctoseiodes Willmann, Leioseius Berlese
Key to Genera of Arctoseiinae & similar Ascinae
1. Leg chaetotaxy reduced, maximum setation: genu II = 10, genu IV = 7, tibia III = 7, tibia IV = 7; opisthonotal region of dorsal shield usually with 4 pairs of lateral setae (S1 present, S2 usually absent); deutosternal denticular rows moderately wide, multidenticulate .................................................................. 2
- Leg chaetotaxy without above reductions, minimum setation: genu II = 11, genu IV = 9, tibia III = 8, tibia IV = 10; opisthonotal region of dorsal shield usually with 5 pairs of lateral setae (S2 present, S1 rarely absent); deutosternal denticular rows narrow, each with few (usually 2-6) denticles................ 5
2. Tarsi II-IV each with dorso-proximal setae ad2, pd2 elongate, curved; genu III usually with 8 setae; female with ventrianal shield bearing 1-6 pairs of ventral setae in addition to circumanal setae................... 3
- Tarsi II-IV with dorso-proximal setae not elongate or curved; genu III with 7 setae (pv1 absent); female with anal shield bearing only circum-anal setae (rarely with ventral setae JV3 on shield)................. 4
3 . Tarsus I without claws; dorsal shield setae j1 & z1 smooth, short and blunt or barbed and variable in length; other dorsal shield setae simple (J5 sometimes barbed), none paddle-shaped............. Xenoseius
- Tarsus I with claws; dorsal shield setae j1 and z1 smooth, pointed (j1 rarely paddle-shaped), variable in length; some dorsal shield setae (always s4 and Z5) paddle-shaped......................... Zerconopsis
4. Vertex of dorsal shield strongly arched downward, setae j1 concealed from above; peritremes sharply recurved distally; dorsal shield without midlateral incisions; tarsi II-IV with 1 (al1) or 2 (al1, pl1) dorso-lateral subapical setae very slender and elongate; palp tarsus with macroseta ................... Iphidozercon
- Vertex of dorsal shield not strongly arched downward, setae j1 visible from above; anterior extremities of peritremes not recurved; dorsal shield with or without midlateral incisions; tarsi II-IV with neither of dorso-lateral subapical setae slender and elongate; palp tarsus without macroseta.....Arctoseius
5. Dorsal shield lacking setae z1; epistome convex and smooth or slightly denticulate; genu I with 12 setae (av2 absent), tibia II with 9 setae (ad2 absent) ................................................................................ 6
- Setae z1 present; tectum bi- or triramous; genu I with 13 setae, tibia II with 10 setae......................... 7
6. Dorsal shield with midlateral incisions; all r-R marginal setae on soft cuticle flanking dorsal shield; female with: first pair of sternal setae on sternal shield, genital setae and pores on soft cuticle flanking epigynial shield, anal shield bearing only circum-anal setae ...................................................... Arctopsis
- Dorsal shield lacking midlateral incisions; r-R marginal setae on edges of dorsal shield; female with: first pair of sternal setae on jugular plates separated from sternal shield or on margin of shield, genital setae and pores on epigynial shield, ventri-anal shield incorporating metapodal plates and bearing 4-5 pairs of setae in addition to circum-anal setae ........................................................................... Neojordensia
7. Dorsal shield lacking setae z3, J2, S1; R3, R4 on dorsal shield, others (r6, R2, R5) absent; genu and tibia I each with 12 setae (av2 absent); genu III with 10 setae, tibia III with 9 setae (pl2 present on both); genu IV with 10 setae (pv1 present) .......................................................................... Arctoseiodes
- Dorsal shield holotrichous, with z3, J2, S1; 10-11 pairs of marginal r-R setae on soft cuticle laterally, none on dorsal shield; genu and tibia I each with 13 setae (av2 present); genu III with 8-9 setae, tibia III with 8 setae (pl2 absent on both); genu IV with 8-9 setae (pv1 absent) ......... Leioseius
References
Athias-Henriot C. 1973. Arctopsis inexpectatus n. gen., n. sp., gamaside litiéricole nouveau de Normandie [Arachnides, Dermanyssina, Ascidae]. Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de France 78, 226-36.
Binns ES. 1973. Arctoseius cetratus (Sellnick) (Acarina : Ascidae) phoretic on mushroom sciarid flies. Acarologia 14, 351-6.
Binns ES. 1975. Notes on the biology of Arctoseius cetratus (Sellnick) (Mesostigmata : Ascidae). Acarologia 16, 577-82.
Evans GO. 1955. A collection of Mesostigmatid mites from Alaska. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Zoology 2: 287-307.
Evans GO & Till WM. 1979.
Mesostigmatic mites of Britain and Ireland (Chelicerata:
Acari-Parasitiformes). An introduction
to their external morphology and classification. Transactions of the Zoological Society of London 35 (2):
145-270.
Halliday RB, Walter DE & Lindquist EE. 1998. Revision of the
Australian Ascidae (Acarina: Mesostigmata).
Invertebrate Taxonomy 12: 1-54.
Karg W. 1993. Acari (Acarina), Milben. Parasitiformes (Anactinochaeta). Cohors Gamasina Leach. Raubmilben. (Second Edition). Die Tierwelt Deutschlands 59: 1-523.
Krantz GW. 1986. A Manual
of Acarology. Second edition, 1978, emended 1986. (Oregon State University
Book Stores, Corvallis, Oregon USA).
Krantz GW & Ainscough B. 1990. Mesostigmata. pp. 583-665, in DL Dindal (ed) Soil Biology Guide. John Wiley & Sons: Brisbane.
Lindquist EE. 1961. Taxonomic and biological studies of mites of the genus Arctoseius Thor from Barrow, Alaska (Acarina : Acesejidae). Hilgardia 30: 301-50.
Lindquist EE & Evans GO. 1965. Taxonomic concepts in the Ascidae, with a modified setal nomenclature for the idiosoma of the Gamasina (Acarina : Mesostigmata). Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada 47: 1-64.