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Five new records and distribution of predatory mite fauna (Arachnida: Acari) associated with crop ecosystems of northern India

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Abstract

Surveillance on predatory mite fauna belonging to the suborders Mesostigmata and Prostigmata, covering three North Indian states Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan during 2019‒2021 recorded 14 species of predatory mites. Out of them 2 species of predatory mite belonging to family Balttisociidae, Lasioseius parberlesei and Lasioseius terrestris; 3 species to family Anystidae, Anystis baccarum, Tencat eiavillosa and Walzia darjeelingensis; 2 species to family Bdellidae, Bdella sp. and Bdellodes sp.; 1 species to family Cheyletidae, Cheletogenes ornatus; 1 species under family Cunaxidae, Cunaxa setirostris; 3 species of family Stigmaeidae, namely, Agistemus fleschneri, A. industani and Indostigmaeus rangatensis and 2 species of family Tydeidae, Pronematus fleschneri and Tydeus sp. were recorded. Out of these one species Tencat eia villosa has been recorded for the first time from India while Lasioseius parberlesei and L. terrestris; Indostigmaeus rangatensis and Pronematus flechneri have been recorded for the first time from the state of Punjab and North India.

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The datasets used and /or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the Head, Department of Entomology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India for providing necessary support in the form of laboratory and field facilities to carry out our research work. The First Author (Shubhadeep Biswas) is also grateful to Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, for the grant of ICAR-PG Scholarship (No. F1-EDN/1/25/2015-Exam cell and order no. Ag.edn. 2(9)/2018-HRD for a period of two years during his M.Sc. programme. The second and third authors are grateful to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research for financial grant and infrastructural facilities under the All India Network Project (AINP) on Agricultural Acarology. The authors also acknowledge the facilities used under the Fund for Improvement of S&T infrastructure in universities and higher educational institutions (DST-FIST) project (project no SR/FST/LSI/636/2015(c).

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  1. Department of Entomology, Punjab Agricultural University, 141004, Ludhiana, Punjab, India

    Shubhadeep Biswas & Paramjit Kaur

  2. AINP on Agricultural Acarology, Department of Entomology, Punjab Agricultural University, 141004, Ludhiana, India

    Manmeet Brar Bhullar

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  1. Shubhadeep Biswas
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Contributions

SB and MBB conducted the surveys and collected the specimens of different mite species; SB illustrated, wrote the results and the manuscript ; MBB conceived the idea, identified the species and reviewed the manuscript and conducted the overall management of the article. PK helped in data collection and preparation of the article. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Manmeet Brar Bhullar.

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Biswas, S., Bhullar, M.B. & Kaur, P. Five new records and distribution of predatory mite fauna (Arachnida: Acari) associated with crop ecosystems of northern India. Int J Trop Insect Sci 43, 1305–1315 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42690-023-01040-4

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