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Female dorsal view

Other Names

Synonyms

none

Distribution

New Zealand: Nelson, Wellington, Auckland (Collyer, 1964; 1982); Australia: Tasmania, NSW (Schicha, 1987; Beard, 2001).

Notes

N. harrowi was collected in New Zealand on Oxalis sp., Trifolium sp., and in pasture soil samples. Collyer's (1964) original description of N. harrowi was based on three females. Schicha (1980) redescribed N. harrowi, based on one damaged remounted female collected by Collyer, which he designated as a lectotype. Schicha (1983) and Beard (2001) recorded N. harrowi from Australia and provided description of the species based on Australian specimens. However, neither Schicha (1980; 1983), nor Beard (2001) examined the original type specimens of N. harrowi, presuming them lost; and their description and identification are based on Australian material. I have examined both the original New Zealand type material (the three females, deposited in New Zealand Arthropod Collection, Auckland), and the Australian material (NSW Dept. of Agriculture), and conclude that (1) the description and illustrations of N. harrowi in Beard (2001) do not match the type material of N. harrowi sensu Collyer, 1964, and (2) the Australian voucher specimen labelled "N. harrowi" (NSW Dept. of Agriculture) does not match the type material of N. harrowi and Collyer's description, and is not, in fact, N. harrowi (M. Minor, unpublished data). At the same time, the type of N. harrowi is very similar to the holotype of Australian species Neoseiulus tareensis (Schicha, 1983), and I suspect the two species may be considered synonymous after closer examination. At present, it is difficult to say whether or not N. harrowi is present in Australia.

References

Beard, J.J. (2001) A review of Australian Neoseiulus Hughes and Typhlodromips de Leon (Acari: Phytoseiidae: Amblyseiinae). Invertebrate Taxonomy 15: 73-158.

Collyer, E. (1964) The occurrence of some mites of the Family Phytoseiidae in New Zealand, and descriptions of seven new species. Acarologia 6: 632-646.

Collyer, E. (1982) The Phytoseiidae of New Zealand (Acarina). 1. The genera Typhlodromus and Amblyseius - keys and new species. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 9: 185-206.

Schicha, E. (1980) Two new species of phytoseiid mites from Australia and redescription of six from New Zealand and Japan. General and Applied Entomology 12: 16-31.

Schicha, E. (1983) New species, new records, and redescription of phytoseiid mites from Australia, Tahiti and the African Region (Acari: Phytoseiidae). International Journal of Entomology 25: 103-126.

Schicha, E. (1987) Phytoseiidae of Australia and Neighboring Areas. Indira Publishing House, Oak Park, Michigan, USA. 187 p.

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