Amblyseius

Amblyseius swirskii, copyright Stephen Luk.

Belongs within: Phytoseioidea.

Amblyseius is a diverse genus of predatory mites, many species of which are significant in biological control of agricultural pests. In particular, a number of species have been found in association with the broad mite Polyphagotarsonemus latus, such as Amblyseius asiaticus, A. largoensis and A. tamatavensis on potato plants (Corpuz-Raros 2002). Amblyseius swirskii has been used commercially for controlling thrips and whiteflies on vegetable crops. Amblyseius coccosocius has received attention in India as a biological control agent for the tea spider mite Oligonychus coffeae. Amblyseius orientalis is known from a number of crop species in China as a control agent for spider mites (Wu & Lan 2001).

A number of species groups may be recognised, some of which may deverse recognition as separate genera; for instance, the heavily sclerotised Amblyseius cabonus group lacks setae J2 and may be more closely related to the genus Proprioseiopsis (Walter 1999). The type species of the genus, A. obtusus, is cosmopolitan in distribution and found in grass sod.

Characters (from Walter 1999): Dorsal shield setae S4 present, J2 usually present. Anteromedian dorsal shield setae j4, j5 and j6 short and simple, j6 shorter than or subequal to distance j6–j6. Macrosetae present on genu III, leg IV and often other legs.

<==Amblyseius Berlese 1914 [Amblyseiini] FH93
    |--*A. obtusus (Koch 1839) ET79 (see below for synonymy)
    |--A. aerialis (Muma 1955) [=Amblyseiopsis aerialis] FH93
    |--A. agrestis C91
    |--A. ainu WL01
    |--A. alpinus Schweizer 1922 (see below for synonymy) S61
    |--A. alstoniae G01
    |--A. americanus Garman 1948 [=A. (Amblyseiopsis) americanus] FH93
    |--A. andersoni (Chant 1957) [=Typhlodromus andersoni] FH93
    |--A. angeliquae Schicha 1987 H98
    |--A. annae MM85
    |--A. anthurii Schicha 1993 H98
    |--A. anuwati WL01
    |--A. aripo S99
    |--A. asiaticus WL01
    |--A. asperocervix McMurtry & Moraes 1985 MM85
    |--A. australograminis Wainstein 1977 H98
    |--A. banksiae McMurtry & Schicha 1987 H98
    |--A. bay Schicha 1980 H98
    |--A. bayviewensis Schicha 1977 H98
    |--A. benjamini Schicha 1981 H98
    |--A. bibens CL91
    |--A. borealis Chant & Hansell 1971 FH93
    |--A. brevispinus W88
    |--A. cabonus Schicha & Elshafie 1980 W99, H98 [=Proprioseiopsis cabonus H98]
    |--A. calorai C-R02
    |--A. cangaro Schicha 1987 H98
    |--A. carverae Schich 1993 H98
    |--A. casimiri Schicha & Elshafie 1980 H98
    |--A. cessator De Leon 1962 [incl. A. opertus Zack 1969] FH93
    |--A. channabasavannai G01
    |--A. chilcotti Chant & Hansell 1971 FH93
    |--A. chilenensis P91
    |--A. chorites Schuster & Pritchard 1963 FH93
    |--A. christinae (Schicha 1981) [=Typhlodromus christinae; incl. A. brevisetosus Collyer 1982] H98
    |--A. cinctus WL01
    |--A. citrifolius SS01
    |--A. coccineae G01
    |--A. coccosocius SS01
    |--A. culmulus K07
    |--A. cupulus Denmark & Muma 1989 FH93
    |--A. curiosus (Chant & Baker 1965) [=Iphiseius curiosus; incl. A. arenus Muma 1965] FH93
    |--A. dahonagnas C-R02
    |--A. darwinensis Schicha 1987 H98
    |--A. decolor (Westerboer 1963) M96
    |--A. dieteri Schicha 1979 H98
    |--A. duncansoni Specht & Rasmy 1970 FH93
    |--A. eharai WL01
    |--A. endiandrae Schicha 1993 H98
    |--A. fletcheri Schicha 1981 H98
    |--A. fraterculus Berlese 1916 FH93
    |--A. grandiductus McMurttry & Moraes 1985 MM85
    |--A. guntheri McMurtry & Schicha 1987 H98
    |--A. hainanensis WL01
    |--A. harrowi Collyer 1964 H98
    |--A. heidrunae McMurtry & Schicha 1987 H98
    |--A. helmi Schicha 1987 H98
    |--A. herbicolus (Chant 1959) FH93 (see below for synonymy)
    |--A. hibisci P91
    |--A. hova MM85
    |--A. imbricatus WL01
    |--A. indicus AS96
    |--A. italicus RCi91
    |--A. japonicus MM85
    |--A. jugortus Athias-Henriot 1966 Koe91
    |--A. keni Schicha 1987 H98
    |--A. lailae Schicha 1979 H98
    |--A. largoensis (Muma 1955) [=Amblyseiopsis largoensis, Typhlodromus largoensis] H98
    |--A. lenis Corpuz & Rimando 1966 [incl. A. sullivani Schicha & Elshafie 1980] H98
    |--A. lentiginosus Denmark & Schicha 1975 H98
    |--A. limonicus RRA07
    |--A. longulus Berlese 1910 S61
    |--A. loxtoni Schicha 1979 H98
    |--A. maai Tseng 1976 MM85
    |--A. makuwa WL01
    |--A. markwelli Schicha 1979 H98
    |--A. masseei Z91
    |--A. melaleucae McMurtry & Schicha 1987 H98
    |--A. memorivagus RCT96
    |--A. meridionalis Berlese 1914 [=A. obtusus var. meridionalis; incl. Typhlodromus calicis Karg 1966] FH93
    |--A. mesembrinus SS01
    |--A. montdorensis Schicha 1979 H98
    |--A. multidentatus (Chant 1959) [=Typhlodromus multidentatus] FH93
    |--A. multisetosus McMurtry & Moraes 1985 MM85
    |--A. munsteriensis MM85
    |--A. muraleedharani G01
    |--A. nambourensis Schicha 1981 H98
    |--A. neolentiginosus Schicha 1979 H98
    |--A. neomarkwelli Schicha 1980 H98
    |--A. newsami (Evans 1953) [=Typhlodromus (Amblyseius) newsami] MM85
    |--A. nicholsi CK01
    |--A. nicola Chant & Hansell 1971 FH93
    |--A. nonfraterculus Schicha 1987 H98
    |--A. noosae McMurtry & Schicha 1987 H98
    |--A. nova MM85
    |--A. oatmani Denmark 1974 FH93
    |--A. obtuserellus WL01
    |--A. oguroi WL01
    |--A. okinawanus Ehara 1967 MM85
    |--A. orientalis Ehara 1959 FH93
    |--A. ornatus C91
    |--A. ovatus RRA07
    |--A. papuaensis McMurtry & Moraes 1985 MM85
    |--A. parapeltatus WL01
    |--A. parasundi MM85
    |--A. paucisetis Wainstein 1983 FH93
    |--A. paucisetosus McMurtry & Moraes 1985 MM85
    |--A. peltatus van der Merwe 1968 H98
    |--A. phillipsi McMurtry & Schicha 1984 H98
    |--A. potentillae (Garman 1958) [=Amblyseopsis potentillae] FH93
    |--A. pruni G01
    |--A. pseudolongispinosus WL01
    |--A. punctatus Muma in Muma, Metz & Farrier 1967 FH93
    |--A. rademacheri Z91
    |--A. readshawi Schicha 1987 H98
    |--A. reductus Z91
    |--A. reticulatus Oudemans 1930 H98
    |--A. rhododendronis G01
    |--A. rusticanus [=Amblyseiella rusticana] TKC07
    |--A. salebrosus WL01
    |--A. schusteri (Chant 1959) [=Typhlodromus (Amblyseius) schusteri] FH93
    |--A. sellnicki (Karg 1960) [=Typhlodromus sellnicki] FH93
    |--A. semirregularis C-R02
    |--A. setatus Berlese 1916 B16
    |--A. similis RCh91
    |--A. solus MM85
    |--A. stipulatus RCi91
    |--A. striatus WL01
    |--A. sturti Schicha 1980 H98
    |--A. subtilisetosus Z91
    |--A. sundi MM85
    |--A. swirskii SS01
    |--A. syzygii Gupta 1975 MM85
    |--A. taiwanicus L86
    |--A. tamatavensis Blommers 1974 H98
    |--A. tenuis Koh91
    |--A. tetranychivorus G01
    |--A. thwaitesi Schicha 1977 H98
    |--A. tibetasalicis WL01
    |--A. timagami Chant & Hansell 1971 FH93
    |--A. tsugawai WL01
    |--A. umbraticus R-CT01
    |--A. utriculus Karg 1989 FH93
    |--A. vanderlindei Van der Merwe 1965 [incl. A. tareensis Schicha 1983] H98
    |--A. verrucosus RCT96
    |--A. vignus G01
    |--A. volcanus Prasad 1968 FH93
    |--A. waltersi Schicha 1981 H98
    |--A. wearnei Schicha 1987 H98
    `--A. williamsi Schicha 1983 H98

Amblyseius alpinus Schweizer 1922 [=Amblyseius obtusus var. alpinus, Amblygamasus alpinus; incl. Amblyseius alpinus var. murteri Schweizer 1961] S61

Amblyseius herbicolus (Chant 1959) FH93 [=Typhlodromus (Amblyseius) herbicolus FH93; incl. A. amitae Bhattacharyya 1968 FH93, A. deleoni Muma & Denmark 1970 H98, A. impactus Chandhri 1968 FH93]

*Amblyseius obtusus (Koch 1839) ET79 [=Zercon obtusus FH93, Gamasus obtusus CF77; incl. Amblyseius perlongisetus affatisetus Wainstein 1960 FH93, Zercon furcatus CF77, A. microsetae Muma 1961 FH93, Z. mucronatus CF77, A. rhabdus Denmark 1965 FH93, A. obtusus var. tuscus S22]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

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[B16] Berlese, A. 1916. Centuria terza di Acari nuovi. Redia 12: 289–338.

[CF77] Canestrini, G., & F. Fanzago. 1877. Intorno agli Acari Italiani. Atti del Reale Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, Serie 5, 4: 69–208, pls 2–7.

[CL91] Castagnoli, M., & M. Liguori. 1991. Laboratory observations on duration of copulation and egg production of three phytoseiid species fed on pollen. In: Schuster, R., & P. W. Murphy (eds) The Acari: Reproduction, development and life-history strategies pp. 231–239. Chapman & Hall: London.

[CK01] Charanasri, V., & M. Kongchuensin. 2001. Species and population densities of mites on jujube. In: Halliday, R. B., D. E. Walter, H. C. Proctor, R. A. Norton & M. J. Colloff (eds) Acarology: Proceedings of the 10^th International Congress pp. 419–422. CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne.

[C91] Çobanoglu, S. 1991. The distribution of phytoseiid species (Acari: Phytoseiidae) in important apple growing areas of Turkey. In: Dusbábek, F., & V. Bukva (eds) Modern Acarology: Proceedings of the VIII International Congress of Acarology, held in České Budĕjovice, Czechoslovakia, 6–11 August 1990 vol. 1 pp. 565–570. SPB Academic Publishing: The Hague.

[C-R02] Corpuz-Raros, L. A. 2002. Philippine acarine biological control agents: status, bioecology and research prospects. Philippine Agricultural Scientist 85 (2): 137–154.

[FH93] Farrier, M. H., & M. K. Hennessey. 1993. Soil-inhabiting and free-living Mesostigmata (Acari-Parasitiformes) from North America: an annotated checklist with bibliography and index. North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, North Carolina State University, Technical Bulletin 302: i–xvi, 1–408.

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[Koe91] Koehler, H. H. 1991. A five year study on the secondary succession of Gamasina on a ruderal site: the influence of recultivation. In: Dusbábek, F., & V. Bukva (eds) Modern Acarology: Proceedings of the VIII International Congress of Acarology, held in České Budĕjovice, Czechoslovakia, 6–11 August 1990 vol. 1 pp. 373–383. SPB Academic Publishing: The Hague.

[Koh91] Kohn, M. 1991. Influence of the refuse dump biotopes on ecology of some gamasoid mites and ticks. In: Dusbábek, F., & V. Bukva (eds) Modern Acarology: Proceedings of the VIII International Congress of Acarology, held in České Budĕjovice, Czechoslovakia, 6–11 August 1990 vol. 1 pp. 199–204. SPB Academic Publishing: The Hague.

[L86] Lindquist, E. E. 1986. The world genera of Tarsonemidae (Acari: Heterostigmata): a morphological, phylogenetic, and systematic revision, with a reclassification of family-group taxa in the Heterostigmata. Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada 118 (S136): 1–517.

[MM85] McMurtry, J. A., & G. J. de Moraes. 1985. Some phytoseiid mites (Acari) of Papua New Guinea, with descriptions of six new species. International Journal of Acarology 11 (2): 75–88.

[M96] Munderloh, E. 1996. Gamasina (Mesostigmata) in a dune transect at Spiekeroog (Germany, Lower Saxony). In: Mitchell, R., D. J. Horn, G. R. Needham & W. C. Welbourn (eds) Acarology IX vol. 1. Proceedings pp. 589–594. Ohio Biological Survey: Columbus (Ohio).

[P91] Petrushov, A. Z. 1991. Selection and mechanisms of ambush resistance in Metaseiulus occidentalis N. (Acarina: Phytoseiidae). In: Dusbábek, F., & V. Bukva (eds) Modern Acarology: Proceedings of the VIII International Congress of Acarology, held in České Budĕjovice, Czechoslovakia, 6–11 August 1990 vol. 2 pp. 741–748. SPB Academic Publishing: The Hague.

[RCh91] Ragusa Di Chiara, S. 1991. Using native phytoseiids in agricultural cropping systems. In: Dusbábek, F., & V. Bukva (eds) Modern Acarology: Proceedings of the VIII International Congress of Acarology, held in České Budĕjovice, Czechoslovakia, 6–11 August 1990 vol. 1 pp. 159–166. SPB Academic Publishing: The Hague.

[RCi91] Ragusa, S., & A. M. Ciulla. 1991. Phytoseiid mites associated with vines in Sicilian vineyards. In: Schuster, R., & P. W. Murphy (eds) The Acari: Reproduction, development and life-history strategies pp. 417–423. Chapman & Hall: London.

[RCT96] Ragusa Di Chiara, S., & H. Tsolakis. 1996. A. survey of phytoseiid mites (Phytoseiidae) associated with various plants in Sicily (Italy). In: Mitchell, R., D. J. Horn, G. R. Needham & W. C. Welbourn (eds) Acarology IX vol. 1. Proceedings pp. 253–256. Ohio Biological Survey: Columbus (Ohio).

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[RRA07] Ramos, M., H. Rodríguez & L. Almaguel. 2007. Qualitative and quantitative description of predatory mite biodiversity in different agroecosystems in Cuba. In: Morales-Malacara, J. B., V. M. Behan-Pelletier, E. Ueckermann, T. M. Pérez, E. G. Estrada-Venegas & M. Badii (eds) Acarology XI: Proceedings of the International Congress pp. 463–469. Instituto de Biología and Faculdad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Sociedad Latinoamericana de Acarología: México.

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[W99] Walter, D. E. 1999. Review of Australian Asperoseius Chant, Euseius Wainstein, Okiseius Ehara and Phytoscutus Muma (Acari: Mesostigmata: Phytoseiidae) with a key to the genera of Australian Amblyseiinae and descriptions of two new species. Australian Journal of Entomology 38: 85–95.

[WL01] Wu, W.-N., & W.-M. Lan. 2001. The phytoseiid mites of major crops in China. In: Halliday, R. B., D. E. Walter, H. C. Proctor, R. A. Norton & M. J. Colloff (eds) Acarology: Proceedings of the 10^th International Congress pp. 530–532. CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne.

[Z91] Zacharda, M. 1991. Typhlodromus pyri Scheuten, 1857 (Acari: Phytoseiidae), a unique predator for biological control of phytophagous mites in Czechoslovakia. In: Dusbábek, F., & V. Bukva (eds) Modern Acarology: Proceedings of the VIII International Congress of Acarology, held in České Budĕjovice, Czechoslovakia, 6–11 August 1990 vol. 1 pp. 205–210. SPB Academic Publishing: The Hague.

Last updated: 18 April 2021.