De Giosa Marcello, Ataide Livia M S, Dale Adam G, Hahn Daniel A, Wu Xingbo, Ochoa Ronald, Bolton Samuel, Cloonan Kevin R, Revynthi Alexandra M
Tropical Research and Education Center, Entomology and Nematology Department, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Homestead, FL, 33031, USA.
Entomology and Nematology Department, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA.
Exp Appl Acarol. 2025 Jul 9;95(2):13. doi: 10.1007/s10493-025-01040-8.
Acalitus simplex is an erinose eriophyoid mite that feeds exclusively on plants in the genus Ruellia, which are frequently sold as ornamentals for landscape plantings. This study presents a comprehensive examination of A. simplex collected from Anguilla, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Florida, and Hawaii through sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene (COI), coupled with morphological examination by several microscopy techniques. The collected A. simplex specimens were similar in morphology across geographic locations and populations clustered together in a phylogenetic analysis based on COI sequences. In addition to Ruellia simplex, new host plant associations are reported in Florida, including R. blechum, R. squarrosa and R. caroliniensis. We defined the different erineum stages, determined the number of days after infestation on an uninfested plant required for erinea development, and estimated population densities in each erineum stage. Four erineum stages were observed on R. simplex - hyaline (stage 1), white (stage 2), purple (stage 3) and beige (stage 4). At 25 ± 2 C, 12:12/L: D and 50 ± 10% RH, the purple stage did not develop and the duration of the hyaline, white and beige erinea was 12.4 ± 0.7 (mean ± SE), 44.4 ± 1.3, and 20.5 ± 0.9 days, respectively. Population densities varied significantly across the erineum stages, with most individuals in the white and purple stages and fewer in the hyaline and beige stages. This study improves our understanding of interactions between A. simplex and R. simplex, aiding the development of IPM strategies to mitigate this mite.
单毛刺瘿螨是一种叶刺瘿螨科的瘿螨，仅以蓝花草属植物为食，这些植物常作为园林观赏植物出售。本研究通过对线粒体细胞色素氧化酶I基因（COI）进行测序，并结合多种显微镜技术进行形态学检查，对从安圭拉、巴西、多米尼加共和国、佛罗里达和夏威夷采集的单毛刺瘿螨进行了全面研究。所采集的单毛刺瘿螨标本在形态上在不同地理位置相似，并且基于COI序列的系统发育分析中，不同种群聚集在一起。除了蓝花草外，在佛罗里达还报告了新的寄主植物关联，包括糙叶蓝花草、方茎蓝花草和卡罗莱纳蓝花草。我们定义了不同的虫瘿阶段，确定了在未受侵染的植物上侵染后虫瘿发育所需的天数，并估计了每个虫瘿阶段的种群密度。在蓝花草上观察到四个虫瘿阶段——透明（第1阶段）、白色（第2阶段）、紫色（第3阶段）和米色（第4阶段）。在25±2℃、12:12光暗周期和50±10%相对湿度条件下，紫色阶段未发育，透明、白色和米色虫瘿的持续时间分别为12.4±0.7（平均值±标准误）、44.4±1.3和20.5±0.9天。种群密度在不同虫瘿阶段有显著差异，白色和紫色阶段个体最多，透明和米色阶段个体较少。本研究增进了我们对单毛刺瘿螨与蓝花草之间相互作用的理解，有助于制定综合虫害管理策略来减轻这种螨害。
