Asca

Asca aphidioides, copyright Matthew Shepherd.

Belongs within: Ascidae.

Asca is a diverse genus of mites found in a range of habitats including moss, leaf litter, animal nests and on vegetation (Hurlbutt 1963).

Characters (from Hurlbutt 1963): Female with body flattened dorso-ventrally and with two approximately equal dorsal shields. Anterior dorsal shield with either seventeen or eighteen pairs of setae depending upon location of r4 which may be on dorsal shield, on peritrematal shield or on membrane lateral to dorsal shield. Setae r5, r6 and r7 on membrane. Seta r1 absent so only a single pair of setae (il) is situated on anterior margin of idiosoma. Seta r5 similar in length and form to adjacent setae. Posterior dorsal shield with fifteen pairs of setae. Cylindrical tubercle projecting from each corner of posterior shield, each tubercle bearing two setae, one of which is very minute in some species. Sternal shield with two pairs of setae, first pair of sternal setae situated on faintly sclerotized jugularia. First pair of sternal pores on anterior boundary of sternal shield. Third pair of sternal pores (when visible) located on posterolateral corners of sternal shield. Metasternal setae arising from membrane. Two pairs of setae, three pairs of narrow platelets and one pair of pores on membrane between epigynial and ventrianal plates. Pores also present lateral to genital shield, behind coxa IV and near anterolateral corner of ventrianal plate. Outer and inner metapodal plates present. Ventrianal shield always broad, with six pairs of setae in addition to the perianals. Tectum with anterior margin smooth, serrate, or with two or three equal tines. Moveable digit of chelicera with two teeth. All legs with claws. Male with dorsal shield similar to that of female, fused anteriorly to peritrematal shield. Sternigenital and ventrianal shields distinct. Setae V1 and V5 situated on ventrianal shield. Spermatophorentrager rod-shaped or slightly curved. Leg II without processes or spurs.

<==Asca Heyden 1826 [incl. Ceratozercon Berlese 1913] FH93
    |--A. (Asca) FH93
    |    |--*A. (A.) aphidioides (Linnaeus 1758) ET79 (see below for synonymy)
    |    |--A. (A.) capria De Leon 1967 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) circula De Leon 1967 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) citri Hurlbutt 1963 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) craneta De Leon 1967 FH93 [incl. A. machadoi Genis, Loots & Ryke 1969 H72]
    |    |--A. (A.) cunliffei De Leon 1967 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) denticulata De Leon 1967 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) equalis De Leon 1967 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) foxi De Leon 1967 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) garmanioides De Leon 1967 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) hurlbitti De Leon 1967 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) incisa Hurlbutt 1963 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) leightoni De Leon 1967 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) lobata De Leon 1967 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) mexicanella De Leon 1967 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) muma Hurlbutt 1963 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) mumata De Leon 1967 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) neopallida Hurlbutt 1963 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) nesoica Athias-Henriot 1961 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) nonula De Leon 1967 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) nova Willmann 1939 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) perseae De Leon 1967 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) piloja Hurlbutt 1963 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) pini Hurlbutt 1963 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) plumosa De Leon 1967 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) quinquesetosa Wharton 1941 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) quinta De Leon 1967 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) quintissima De Leon 1967 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) sejodes De Leon 1967 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) setacea De Leon 1967 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) subfoliata De Leon 1967 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) tarsialis De Leon 1967 FH93
    |    |--A. (A.) tubula De Leon 1967 FH93
    |    `--A. (A.) unicornis De Leon 1967 FH93
    `--A. (Ascoseius) FH93
         |--A. (A.) acornis Lindquist 1972 FH93
         `--A. (A.) duosetosa Fox 1946 FH93

Asca incertae sedis:
  A. aethiopica Ryke 1961 H63
  A. afroaphidioides Hurlbutt 1972 [=A. afroaphidiodes, A. afroaphidoides] H72
  A. arboriensis Wood 1966 SL71
  A. australica Womersley 1956 H98
  A. brachychaeta Hurlbutt 1963 FH93
  A. brevisetosa Wood 1965 SL71
  A. craneae De Leon 1967 FH93
  A. elongata (Berlese 1910) [=Ceratozercon bicornis var. elongatus] FH93
  A. elongatula De Leon 1967 FH93
  A. evansi Genis, Loots & Ryke 1969 H72
  A. foliata Womersley 1956 H98
  A. garmani Hurlbutt 1963 FH93
  A. grostali Walter et al. 1993 H98
  A. kubwa Hurlbutt 1972 H72
  A. lativentria Hurlbutt 1972 H72
  A. macromela Walter et al. 1993 H98
  A. macropilis De Leon 1967 FH93
  A. major Womersley 1956 H98
  A. mindi Walter et al. 1993 H98
  A. minuta Bhattacharyya 1968 H72
  A. muricata Fox 1947 FH93
  A. novazelandica Wood 1965 SL71
  A. pallida Evans 1958 H63
  A. pineta De Leon 1967 FH93
  A. porosa Wood 1966 H98
  A. pseudospicata H72
  A. spicata Hurlbutt 1963 FH93
  A. spinosa Ryke 1961 H63
  A. squamulata Athias-Henriot 1961 H63
  A. tuberculata Wood 1965 SL71

*Asca (Asca) aphidioides (Linnaeus 1758) ET79 [=Acarus aphidioides FH93; incl. Gamasus (Sejus) bicornis Canestrini & Fanzago 1876 FH93, Asca bicornis K91, Ceratozercon bicornis S61, Zercon bicornis H63]

*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.

[H98] Halliday, R. B. 1998. Mites of Australia: A checklist and bibliography. CSIRO Publishing: Collingwood.

[H63] Hurlbutt, H. W. 1963. The genus Asca von Heyden (Acarina: Mesostigmata) in North America, Hawaii and Europe. Acarologia 5 (4): 480–518.

[H72] Hurlbutt, H. W. 1972. Ascinae and Podocinidae (Acarina: Mesostigmata) from Tanzania. Acarologia 13 (2): 280–300.

[K91] 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.

[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.

[SL71] Spain, A. V., & M. Luxton. 1971. Catalog and bibliography of the Acari of the New Zealand subregion. Pacific Insects Monograph 25: 179–226.