Complementary data on Graptoppia (Stenoppia) italica (Acari, Oribatida, Oppiidae) collected from Iran

The black-legged tick Ixodes scapularis Linnaeus (Acari: Ixodidae) is an important vector of microbial pathogens. Knowledge of the tick's innate immune response, particularly defensin and other antimicrobial peptides, is important for understanding how microbes survive in this tick. A defensin gene (slnA) from I. scapularis was obtained by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR...

The transcript sequence of the Amblyomma americanum Linnaeus (Acari: Ixodidae) defensin, termed amercin (amn), was ascertained and a 219-bp amn coding region identified. The gene encodes a 72-amino acid prepropeptide with a putative 37-amino acid mature peptide. This gene shows little similarity to either of the defensins from Amblyomma hebraeum Koch, the only other Amblyomma species for which ...

The two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch is one of the economically most important pests in a wide range of outdoor and protected crops worldwide. Its control has been and still is largely based on the use of insecticides and acaricides. However, due to its short life cycle, abundant progeny and arrhenotokous reproduction, it is able to develop resistance to these compounds very rap...

A new species of Atractides Koch, 1837 (Acari, Hydrachnidia) is described from Ethiopia. The world number of Atractides now tallies 297 species. The diversity of the genus Atractides in the Afrotropical region is briefly discussed.

Modifications to established protocols for preparing Acari for transmission electron microscopy are described. These modifications were found to improve the results obtained in a study of the ultrastructure of lightly sclerotized eupodoid mites.

Two new mite species from India and Vietnam, viz. Armascirus denheyeri sp. nov. and Armascirus orientalis sp. nov. (Acari: Prostigmata, Cunaxidae), are described and figured together with the description of the deutonymph of Armascirus fendai from Slovakia.

Two new species of the genus Anoplocheylus Berlese, 1910 (Acari: Trombidiformes: Pseudocheylidae), A. sinai Bagheri sp. nov. and A. kazemii Bagheri sp. nov., are described and figured. An updated key to all known species of Anoplocheylus is also provided.

Pesticide-resistant populations of the predatory mite Metaseiulus (= Typhlodromus or Galendromus) occidentalis (Arthropoda: Chelicerata: Acari: Phytoseiidae) have been used in the biological control of pest mites such as phytophagous Tetranychus urticae. However, the pesticide resistance mechanisms in M. occidentalis remain largely unknown. In other arthropods, members of the glutathione-S-tran...

In order to determine the interactive effect of reseeding, herbicide spraying and ploughing on soil fauna communities, we conducted a grassland reseeding experiment combined with pre-reseed management to examine how with the whole reseeding process affects soil faunal composition. Sampling occasions and exact treatments were as follows: (1) before chemical herbicide spray; (2) after spray but b...