Material examined

specimens not examined

Taxonomy

Subfamily Bryobiinae

Tribe Bryobiini

Distribution

+Australia (Tasmania), Bulgaria, CIS, Chile, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, *The Netherlands, United Kingdom

Taxonomy Changes

None

Diagnosis

Larva

• dorsal body setae lanceolate

Female 

• prodorsal setae v2 1.5-2 times longer than setae v1
• outer prodorsal lobes triangular
• indentation between inner and outer prodorsal lobes deep
• posterior dorsal setae longer and larger than other dorsal setae

Hosts

*Hedera helix, Hedera sp. (Araliaceae), Solanum tuberosum (Solonaceae)

Similar Taxa

Bryobia rubrioculus (apple and pear),  B. ribis (Ribes sp.), B. praetiosa (> 250 species host plants)

Biology

Bryobia kissophila is separated from the species B. rubricolus and B. ribis on its biology only (Jeppson et al. 1975) as it is apparently confined to ivy, Hedera spp. (Araliaceae).

References

Bolland H.R., Gutierrez J., and Flechtmann C.H.W. (1998)  World Catalogue of the Spider Mite Family (Acari: Tetranychidae). Brill Academic Publishers, Leiden, 392 pp.

*van Eyndhoven, G.L. (1955)  Bryobia from Hedera, apple and pear (Acari: Tetranychidae).  Notulae ad Tetranychidas. I. Entomol. Ber. Amst. 15: 340-347

+Miller, L.W. (1966)  The tetranychid mites of Tasmania.  Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 100: 53-76

Notes

It is difficult to distinguish between B. kissophila and B. praetiosa, and between B. kissophila and B. ribis.  The host specificity of B. kissophila to ivy is the key to identification.