Predator mites associated with the litchi erinose mite

Abstract

The objective of this work was to identify predator mites present in lychee plants and to correlate these species population development with the one of the litchi erineum mite, Aceria litchii. The research was carried out in the county of Casa Branca, SP, Brazil, with mature trees of the Bengal variety, with 12 years old. From August 2008 to September 2009, leaves were collected monthly for the evaluation of A.  litchii and predatory mites population levels. Registers were made for 6,557 mites of the Phytoseiidae family. The most abundant species was Amblyseius compositus (42.6%), followed by Phytoseius intermedius (31.2%), Euseius concordis (14.1%), Amblyseius herbicolus (8.8%) and Iphiseiodes zuluagai (3.3%). Population development of A. compositus, E. concordis and I. zuluagai was positively correlated with the one of Aceria  litchii, indicating a predation relationship.