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Host plant range of Raoiella indica (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) in areas of invasion of the New World

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Abstract

Raoiella indica has spread rapidly through the Neotropical region where the mite damages economically and ecologically important plants. Three studies were conducted to determine the host plant range of R. indica, using the presence of colonies containing all life stages as an indicator of reproductive suitability. Periodic surveys at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (Miami Dade County, FL, USA) and the Royal Botanical Gardens (Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) identified 27 new reproductive host plants. The reproductive suitability of two dicotyledonous species and three native Florida palm species was examined. An updated list of reproductive host plants of R. indica is presented. All reported reproductive hosts (91 plant species) of R. indica are monocots from the orders Arecales (Arecaceae), Zingiberales (Heliconiaceae, Musaceae, Strelitziaceae, Zingiberaceae) and Pandanales (Pandanaceae). Most are palms of the family Arecaceae that originated in areas of the Eastern Hemisphere; about one fourth of the reported hosts are native to the New World and could be considered new host associations of R. indica. Six years after the initial detection in the Caribbean, R. indica has expanded its host plant range. Here we report 27 new reproductive host of R. indica that represent 30% of increase on previous host plant records. As this mite continues spreading in the Neotropical region a great diversity of plants is potentially affected.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Cal Welbourn (FSCA-DPI) for the identification of mite species and Drs. J. H. Frank (UF Entomology and Nematology Department) and J. H. Crane (UF-TREC) for helpful reviews of the original manuscript. We are grateful to the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and the Royal Botanical Garden for providing plant material and access to their collections; the University of Florida, IFAS West Palm Beach extension office for providing a place to conduct the nursery evaluations. We thank Y. Ali, L. Bradshaw, R. Gonzales, K. Harradan, M. Kent, S. Maraj, P. Perez, N. Raj, K. Santos, and P. Siew, for their help.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology and Nematology, Tropical Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Homestead, FL, 33031, USA

    Daniel Carrillo, Rita E. Duncan & Jorge E. Peña

  2. University of Florida, 13601 Old Cutler Rd., Miami, FL, 33158, USA

    Divina Amalin

  3. USDA, APHIS, Plant Protection and Quarantine, Miami, FL, 33158, USA

    Amy Roda

  4. Research Division, Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Marine Resources, Centeno, Trinidad and Tobago

    Farzan Hosein

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  1. Daniel Carrillo
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  2. Divina Amalin
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  3. Farzan Hosein
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  4. Amy Roda
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  5. Rita E. Duncan
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  6. Jorge E. Peña
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Correspondence to Daniel Carrillo.

Appendix

Appendix

See Table 4.

Table 4 Reported host plant species of Raoiella indica
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Carrillo, D., Amalin, D., Hosein, F. et al. Host plant range of Raoiella indica (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) in areas of invasion of the New World. Exp Appl Acarol 57, 271–289 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-011-9487-8

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