Laelaspis

Dorsum of Laelaspis myrmicae, from Hirschmann et al. (1969).

Belongs within: Laelapidae.

Laelaspis is a genus of laelapid mites found in ant nests, characterised by long, whip-like or serrated setae (Evans & Till 1979).

Characters (from Evans & Till 1979): Apotele with two tines; setae of holodorsal shield long, whip-like or marginal setae serrated; opisthogenital shield markedly inflated posterior to coxae IV, abutting anal shield and flanked by linear metapodal shields.

<==Laelaspis Berlese 1904 FH93
    |--*L. astronomicus (Koch 1839) ET79 [=Iphis astronomicus ET79, Laelaps (Laelaspis) astronomicus S22]
    |--L. aequitans (Michael 1891) [=Laelaps aequitans] FH93
    |--L. bakeri Hunter & Davis 1962 FH93
    |--L. brevichelis Hunter 1964 FH93
    |--L. brevipilis Hunter 1961 FH93
    |--L. dubitata Hunter 1964 FH93
    |--L. heselhausi (Oudemans 1912) [=Hypoaspis heselhausi] FH93
    |--L. humeratus Berl. 1903 S61
    |--L. longipilis Hunter 1964 FH93
    |--L. lundi Hunter 1961 FH93
    |--L. mandibularis (Ewing 1909) (see below for synonymy) FH93
    |--L. moseri (Hunter & Glover 1968) [=Hypoaspis (Laelaspis) moseri] FH93
    |--L. mumai (Hunter & Glover 1968) [=Hypoaspis (Laelaspis) mumai] FH93
    |--L. myrmicae (Greim 1952) [=Hypoaspis (Laelaspis) myrmicae] HB69
    |--L. pauli (Hunter & Davis 1962) [=Hypoaspis (Laelaspis) pauli] FH93
    |--L. picketti (Hunter & Glover 1968) [=Hypoaspis (Laelaspis) picketti] FH93
    |--L. piloscutuli Hunter 1961 FH93
    |--L. regalis Berlese 1920 FH93
    `--L. variopilus (Greim 1952) [=Hypoaspis (Laelaspis) variopilus] HB69

Laelaspis mandibularis (Ewing 1909) [=Laelaps mandibularis; incl. Hypoaspis (Laelaspis) johnieae Hunter & Glover 1968] 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.

[HB69] Hirschmann, W., F. Bernhard, E. Greim & H. Götz. 1969. Gangsystematik der Parasitiformes. Teil 75. Zwanzig neue Hypoaspis-Arten. Acarologie: Schriftenreihe für Vergleichende Milbenkunde 12: 133–141.

[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.