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Female dorsal view

Other Names

Synonyms

Distribution

Distributed throughout Asia: Japan, South Korea, Taiwan (Moraes et al., 2004); Australia: Tasmania, Victoria, NSW, ACT, Queensland (Schicha, 1987; Beard, 2001); New Zealand (Ho et al., 1995).

Notes

N. womersleyi is very similar to Neoseiulus longispinosus (Evans). The two species can be distinguished by examining the dorsal seta S5 - it is long (as long as S4) and barbed in N. womersleyi, and short (much shorter than S4) and smooth in N. longispinosus. The two species are often misidentified. Collyer (1982) noted that the length of seta S5 is very variable, and suggested that N. womersleyi is a junior synonym of N. longispinosus, but her opinion was not supported in later taxonomic publications. It is likely that some of Collyer's "N. longispinosus" were in fact N. womersleyi. Schicha (1987) and Beard (2001) list N.womersleyi as common in Australia on a wide range of herbaceous plants and small shrubs, including strawberry, black currant, and pot plants. This species is often found in association with the two-spotted mite, Tetranychus spp.

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. (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.

Ho, C., Lo, K., and Chen, W. (1995). Comparative biology, reproductive compatibility and geographical distribution of Amblyseius longispinosus and Amblyseius womersleyi (Acari: Phytoseiidae). Environmental Entomology 24: 601-607.

Moraes, G.J. de, McMurtry, J.A., Denmark, H.A., and Campos, C.B. (2004) A revised catalog of the mite family Phytoseiidae. Zootaxa 434: 1-494.

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

Tseng, H. (1983) Further study on phytoseiid mites from Taiwan (Acarina: Mesostigmata). Chinese Journal of Entomology 3: 33-74.

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