Phytoseiid mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae) from Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego

Abstract

Predatory phytoseiid mites have been intensively studied and surveyed in the last decades because of their economic im- portance as biocontrol agents of agricultural pests. However, many regions of the world remain unexplored and the diver- sity of the family worldwide is still fragmentary. Up to date no phytoseiid species have been collected in the southernmost part of the Earth down to latitude 45o S. In this study Phytoseiidae were sampled from native vegetation in southern Ar- gentina and Chile in the regions of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego Island. Thirteen species were collected, five of which were previously described and eight, Chileseius australis n. sp., Neoseiulus mapuche n. sp., Typhlodromips valdivianus n. sp., T. fissuratus n. sp., Amblyseius grandiporus n. sp., A. caliginosus n. sp., Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) anomalos n. sp. and Metaseiulus parabrevicollis n. sp. are proposed as new to science and are described and diagnosed.