Phylogenetic Position of a New Mite Species (Nalepellidae) Destroying Seeds of North American Junipers and New Hypotheses on Basal Divergence of Eriophyoidea.

Eriophyoid mites of the genus Keifer are widespread parasites of conifers. A new oligophagous species,  , was discovered severely damaging seeds of North American junipers (, , and ) in the western USA. It has two codon deletions in the mitochondrial gene rarely detected in Eriophyoidea and includes distinct morphological dimorphism of females.

Molecular phylogeny of the phytoparasitic mite family Phytoptidae (Acariformes: Eriophyoidea) identified the female genitalic anatomy as a major macroevolutionary factor and revealed multiple origins of gall induction.

Phytoptidae s.str. is a lineage of eriophyoid mites associated with angiosperms.

Molecular phylogenetic analyses reveal a deep dichotomy in the conifer-inhabiting genus Trisetacus (Eriophyoidea: Nalepellidae), with the two lineages differing in their female genital morphology and host associations.

We analyzed the phylogenetic relationships of the genus Trisetacus using two genes [cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and D1-D2 region of 28S rDNA (D1-D2 28S)], a representive taxon sampling (nearly 40% of known diversity), and a large set of close and distant outgroups. Our analyses suggest the presence of a dichotomy between Trisetacus associated with Cupressaceae and Pinaceae. The following smaller molecular clades were found: Pin-1 (bud mites, twig sheath mites, bark gall mites, and endoparasitic mites from pinaceans), Pin-2 (needle sheath mites from pines), Pin-2a (putative Nearctic group of needle sheath mites), Pin-2b (putative Palearctic group of needle sheath mites), Cup-1 and 2 (bud, cone, seed mites and mites living under bark scales from cupressaceans).

Eriocaenus (Acari: Trombidiformes: Eriophyoidea), a new genus from Equisetum spp. (Equisetaceae): morphological and molecular delimitation of two morphologically similar species.

Surveys conducted on horsetails, Equisetum spp. (Equisetaceae), in Serbia led to the discovery of a new eriophyoid mite genus while searching for a classical biological control agent against these weeds in New Zealand. Eriocaenus gen.

Genetic characterization of North American populations of the wheat curl mite and dry bulb mite.

The wheat curl mite, Aceria tosichella Keifer, transmits at least three harmful viruses, wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV), high plains virus (HPV), and Triticum mosaic virus (TriMV) to wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) throughout the Great Plains. This virus complex is considered to be the most serious disease of winter wheat in the western Great Plains.

Host-plant specificity and specialization in eriophyoid mites and their importance for the use of eriophyoid mites as biocontrol agents of weeds.

Eriophyoid mites, which are among the smallest plant feeders, are characterized by the intimate relationships they have with their hosts and the restricted range of plants upon which they can reproduce. The knowledge of their true host ranges and mechanisms causing host specificity is fundamental to understanding mite-host interactions, potential mite-host coevolution, and diversity of this group, as well as to apply effective control strategies or to use them as effective biological control agents. The aim of this paper is to review current knowledge on host specificity and specialization in eriophyoid mites, and to point out knowledge gaps and doubts.

Behavioural studies on eriophyoid mites: an overview.

Eriophyoid mites are excellent candidates for ethological research using the approaches of behavioural ecology and sociobiology. These tiny haplodiploid mites are highly specialized plant parasites, producing galls, forming nests, inhabiting refuges or living freely on plants. They reproduce via spermatophores deposited on a substrate and without pairing, which is a fascinating, though still poorly understood, mode of reproduction widespread in some groups of arthropods.