First report of Eutetranychus africanus (Tetranychidae) in the Americas

Guilherme da Silva, Edmilson Santos Silva, Philippe Auger () and Denise Navia ()
Additional contact information
Guilherme da Silva: UFAL - Universidade Federal de Alagoas = Federal University of Alagoas
Edmilson Santos Silva: UFAL - Universidade Federal de Alagoas = Federal University of Alagoas
Philippe Auger: UMR CBGP - Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - IRD [Occitanie] - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Institut Agro Montpellier - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - UM - Université de Montpellier
Denise Navia: UMR CBGP - Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - IRD [Occitanie] - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Institut Agro Montpellier - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - UM - Université de Montpellier

Post-Print from HAL

Abstract: The spider mite Eutetranychus africanus (Tucker), first described in South Africa about a century ago, can damage agricultural and ornamental crops. It is widespread in Africa, Asia, and Oceania, affecting plants from 21 families (Migeon et al. 2024). Recently, it was also reported in Europe, specifically on Madeira Island, Portugal (Naves et al. 2024). In this study, surveys of phytophagous mites on fruit trees in Alagoas State, Northeastern Brazil, were conducted in October 2022. Spider mites from the genus Eutetranychus were collected on carambola (Averrhoa carambola, Oxalidaceae) in Arapiraca (97° 00' 19.20''S, -36° 68' 64.69''W). Significant leaf damage and high infestation levels were observed. It was initially assumed the mites were Eutetranychus banksi (McGregor), the most common Eutetranychus species in Brazil and the Neotropical region. For identification confirmation, specimens were slide-mounted and examined under phase-contrast and DIC optical microscopes, using criteria from Kamran et al. (2018) and Naves et al. (2024). Unexpectedly, the specimens were identified as E. africanus. This is the first report of E. africanus in Brazil and the Americas, and also the first report of this mite on carambola and an Oxalidaceae host plant. The recent findings in the Americas and Europe suggest the species range is expanding. Considering the invasive pest status of E. orientalis (Klein) and E. banksi (McGregor) in Europe, this report highlights the potential phytosanitary risk E. africanus may pose.

Date: 2024-09-02
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Published in 10th European Association of Acarologists Symposium (X EURAAC Symposium) - Acarology: Impacts & Solutions for humans, agriculture & environment, Sep 2024, Athènes, Greece. , pp.PP-25

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05222951

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Post-Print from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().