Veigaia

Ventral view of Veigaia, copyright Mike Ferro.

Belongs within: Gamasina.

Veigaia is a genus of predatory mites that is abundant in the surface organic layer of temperate soils (Evans & Till 1979). They have been observed to exhibit stratification in preferred soil layers between species with those species found closer to the surface being darker and less slender than those found deeper in the ground. The type species V. nemorensis is widespread in Europe and may be found in a range of habitats (Schweizer 1961). Males of some species are unknown, suggesting that they may be parthenogenetic; such species are found more often in disturbed habits than definitely bisexual species.

Characters (from Evans & Till 1979): Claws of legs II-IV not enlarged, pulvilli not acutely lobate; male with holoventral shield; female with hypostomatic processes large and densely fringed with setiform projections, metasternal setae situated on compound metasternal-endopodal shield.

<==Veigaia Oudemans 1905 [incl. Cyrtolaelaps Berlese 1892 non Berlese 1887] FH93
    |--*V. nemorensis (Koch 1836) ET79 (see below for synonymy)
    |--V. agilis (Berlese 1916) [=Cyrtolaelaps agilis] FH93
    |--V. alba Hurlbutt 1965 FH93
    |--V. bakeri Farrier 1957 FH93
    |--V. bouvieri ET79
    |--V. capreolus (Berlese 1905) H83 [=Cyrtolaelaps capreolus V25]
    |--V. cerva (Kramer 1876) [=Gamasus cervus; incl. G. ignotus George 1913] FH93
    |--V. claggi P94
    |--V. dendritica Hurlbutt 1965 FH93
    |--V. exigua (Berlese 1916) [=Cyrtolaelaps exiguus; incl. V. decurtata Athias-Henriot 1961] FH93
    |--V. gentiles Womersley 1956 H98
    |--V. giganta Pike & Jarroll 1977 FH93
    |--V. helvetica Schweizer 1961 S61
    |--V. hurlbutti Pike & Jarroll 1977 FH93
    |--V. ignaseta Farrier 1957 FH93
    |--V. incisa Hurlbutt 1984 FH93
    |--V. kochi (Trägårdh 1901) FH93 (see below for synonymy)
    |--V. locha Hurlbutt 1965 FH93
    |--V. mitis (Berlese 1916) [=Cyrtolaelaps mitis] FH93
    |--V. nodosa Hurlbutt 1965 FH93
    |--V. nodosoides Hurlbutt 1984 FH93
    |--V. partita (Banks 1910) FH93 (see below for synonymy)
    |--V. philippiensis Hurlbutt 1984 FH93
    |--V. piliseta Farrier 1957 FH93
    |--V. planicola (Berlese 1892) FH93 (see below for synonymy)
    |--V. preendopodalia Hurlbutt 1984 FH93
    |--V. pusilla (Berlese 1916) [=Cyrtolaelaps pusillus] FH93
    |--V. raurica Schweizer 1961 S61
    |--V. sibirica H83
    |--V. smithi Farrier 1957 FH93
    |--V. sylvatica Hurlbutt 1984 FH93
    |--V. transisalae (Oudemans 1902) [=Cyrtolaelaps transisalae] FH93
    |--V. uncata Farrier 1957 FH93
    |--V. virginiana Pike & Jarroll 1977 FH93
    `--V. wyandottensis (Packard 1888) [=Laelaps wyandottensis, Holostaspis wyandottensis] FH93

Veigaia kochi (Trägårdh 1901) FH93 [=Cyrtolaelaps kochi FH93; incl. Gamasus emarginatus Koch 1879 non Koch 1839 FH93, C. herculeanus Berlese 1903 FH93, Veigaia herculeanus S61]

*Veigaia nemorensis (Koch 1836) ET79 [=Gamasus nemorensis FH93, Cyrtolaelaps nemorensis S22; incl. G. candidus Koch 1839 FH93, C. humilis Hull 1918 FH93, G. maculosus Koch 1839 FH93]

Veigaia partita (Banks 1910) FH93 [=Gamasus partitus FH93; incl. Cyrtolaelaps grandipes Berlese 1916 FH93, Veigaia grandipes H65]

Veigaia planicola (Berlese 1892) FH93 [=Cyrtolaelaps nemorensis var. planicola FH93; incl. V. serra Farrier 1957 H65, V. serrata Willmann 1935 FH93, V. siberica Bregetova 1961 FH93]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[ET79] Evans, G. O., & W. M. Till. 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: 139–270.

[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.

[H65] Hurlbutt, H. W. 1965. Systematics and biology of the genus Veigaia (Acarina: Mesostigmata) from Maryland. Acarologia 7 (4): 598–623.

[H83] Hurlbutt, H. W. 1983. The systematics and geographic distribution of East African Veigaiidae (Acarina: Mesostigmata). Acarologia 24 (2): 129–143.

[P94] Pugh, P. J. A. 1994. Non-indigenous Acari of Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic islands. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 110: 207–217.

[S22] Schweizer, J. 1922. Beitrag zur Kenntnis der terrestrischen Milbenfauna der Schweiz. Verhandl. Naturf. Ges. Basel 33: 23–112, 4 pls.

[S61] Schweizer, J. 1961. Die Landmilben der Schweiz (Mittelland, Jura und Alpen): Parasitiformes Reuter, mit 246 Arten und Varietäten und 268 meist kombinierten Originalzeichnungen. Denkschriften der Schweizerischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft [Mémoires de la Société Helvétique des Sciences Naturelles] 84: i–vii, 1–207.

[V25] Vitzthum, H. 1925. Fauna sumatrensis. (Beitrag no. 5). Acarinae. Supplementa Entomologica 11: 1–79.

Last updated: 13 April 2021.