Predatory Mites and Spider Mites(Acari: Phytoseiidae and Tetranychidae) on Oak Trees in Serbia

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the diversity of leaf-inhabiting mites in oak trees of deciduous forests (natural and plantations) and urban areas (parks, forest parks, roadside greeneries and gardens) in Serbia. The survey was carried out in April - October between 2010 and 2018. The results refer to seven oak species, six of them native to Europe and one introduced from North America. Twelve mite species were recorded, nine of the family Phytoseiidae Berlese, 1916 and three of the family Tetranychidae Donnadieu, 1875. There were three predatory mite species new to the acarofauna of Serbia, i.e. Typhloseiulus peculiaris (Kolodochka, 1980), T. simplex (Chant, 1956) and Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) intercalaris Livshitz & Kuznetsov, 1972. The only spider mite species new to the acarofauna of Serbia was Oligonychus endytus Pritchard and Baker, 1955. This was also the first record of O. endytus in the Palaearctic Region. The most common phytoseiid species found from oak species in Serbia were Euseius finlandicus (Oudemans, 1915), Kampimodromus aberrans (Oudemans, 1930) and T. (A.) rhenanus (Oudemans, 1905), while the frequent tetranychid species included O. brevipodus (Targioni Tozzetti, 1878) and Schizotetranychus garmani Pritchard & Baker, 1955.