Tarsonemid mites on ornamental plants in Poland: new data and an ...

TARSONEMID MITES ON ORNAMENTAL PLANTS343AFig. 2. Phytonemus pallidus fragariae: A – male; B – femaleBABFig. 3. Polyphagotarsonemus latus: A – male; B – female

344 Gabriel £abanowski and Gra¿yna SoikaABFig. 4. Steneotarsonemus laticeps: A – male; B – femalePoland this mite was discovered for the first time in the Botanical Garden in Powsinnear Warsaw (SOIKA et al., 2004). Serious damage was observed on Aster dumosuscv. Peter Harrison, Nancy, Mount Everest (4 May’00) and on Aster novi-belgiii cv.Climax, Blue Eyes, Countess of Dudlet, Nancy Ballard (19 Oct’01). This mite feedsby sucking sap inside developing flower buds and shoot tips on unfolding leaflets oflate summer-flowering perennial asters, except Aster novae-angliae and A. amellus,which are more resistant. The most obvious symptom of pest occurrence is poor flowering;many blooms are converted into rosettes of small leaves due to the <strong>mites</strong>’feeding within the developing buds. Infested plants are also stunted and have brownishscarring on the stems.Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks, 1904) – broad mite. It is polyphagous ona wide assortment of ornamentals and some vegetable crops under covers. Forexample, in Connecticut (USA) it has a wide host range and can feed on Africanviolets, ageratums, begonias, cyclamens, dahlias, gerberas, gloxinias, hibiscus, ivy,jasmine, impatiens, New Guinea impatiens, lantanas, marigolds (Tagetes spp.), snapdragons,verbenas and zinnias (PUNDT 2005). Some more ornamental host specieswere found by DENMARK (2000): Aphelandra sp., Cissus discolor, C. rotundifolia,Codiaeum variegatum, Fatsia japonica, Hoya carnosa, Pelargonium sp., Peperomiasp., Plectranthus australis, Schefflera arboricola. In Poland it has become commonsince 1982, when it was imported from the Netherlands on gerbera seedlings(£ABANOWSKI et al. 1990). Up to now, we have observed it on 16 species of plantsbelonging to 14 families (Table 1). The broad mite feeds on the newest growth, causingmalformation of the terminal leaves. They are severely stunted, hardened and curldown at the edges with brownish or reddish lower surfaces, depending on host spe-

TARSONEMID MITES ON ORNAMENTAL PLANTS345Table 1. Records of the broad mite (Polyphagotarsonemus latus) on ornamental plants in commercialglasshouses in PolandPlant family and speciesAcanthaceaeAphelandra squarosaAmaranthaceaeCelosia cristataAraceaeAnthurium x hortulanumAraliaceaeFatshedera x lizeiHedera helixSchefflera arboricolaAsteraceaeGerbera jamesoniiBalsaminaceaeImpatiens noviguineaBegoniaceaeBegonia elatiorBignoniaceaeRadermachera sinicaGesneriaceaeSainpaulia ionanthaNyctaginaceaeBougainvillea sp.PiperaceaePeperomia magnoliaeofoliaPrimulaceaeCyclamen persicumSolanaceaeSolanum capsicastrumVitaceaeCissus antarcticaLocality and date£ódŸ, 27 Sep’00Kraków, 11 Jun’99Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki, 15 Mar’99Wieliszew near Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki, 7 Oct’97;Mys³owice near Katowice, 30 Nov’90; Pabianice, 6 Oct’90;Skierniewice, 3 Feb’93, 11 Oct’2005; Wieliszew, 7 Oct’97Ró¿anki near Gorzów, 6 Oct’90; Pruhonice near Praha,23 Jun’87Czêstochowa, 28 Sep’85; Ka³uszyn near Siedlce, 5 Aug’91;Kraków, 8 Aug’00; £ódŸ, 17 Apr’85; 13 Jan’97, 28 Oct’88;Pabianice near £ódŸ, 26 Sep’91; Skierniewice, 26 Jun’94;16 Sep’05Opole, 5 Jul’04; Warsaw, 10 Apr’06Kraków, 11 Jun’99; £ódŸ, 27 Aug’00; Skierniewice,9 Oct’01, 13 Sep’05; Wola Warszawska, 18 May’03Skierniewice, 28 Nov’97; Wieliszew near Nowy DwórMazowiecki, 28 Aug’97; Wola Warszawska, 11 Jul’98Wola Warszawska, 18 May’03Skierniewice, 21 Oct’05Skierniewice, 29 Oct’01Skierniewice, 6 Dec’01Wieliszew near Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki, 7 Oct’97Mys³owice near Katowice, 30 Nov’90cies. The body of males (Fig. 3A) is oval, 168 :m long, broadest at mid-length(97 :m), prodorsum with 3–4 pairs of dorsal setae (DENMARK 2000).Steneotarsonemus laticeps (Halbert, 1923) – bulb scale mite. It is oligophagouson plants of the family Amaryllidaceae. In Britain it is a pest of narcissus bulbs,which causes brown scars on one or more of the bulb scales in the neck region in

346 Gabriel £abanowski and Gra¿yna Soikathe dormant period, it deforms leaves (giving a “saw-edge” effect) and reduces thequality of flowers (LANE 1979). In Poland it was found for the first time on Hippeastrumsp. on 14 Mar’84 (£ABANOWSKI et al. 1990) and it was sampled from narcissusbulbs imported from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Germany(KARNKOWSKI 1995). Up to now we also have observed the damage on Eucharis sp.and Narcissus sp. imported from the Netherlands. The males (Fig. 4A) have 4 pairsof prodorsal setae; femur IV does not have any flange-like process on the inner margin;the tactile seta on tibia IV is short and not as long as the femoral segment. Thegnathosoma is subcircular and the third pair of prodorsal setae are 2/3 as long as thewidth of the gnathosoma. The body of females is elongate, legs I and II are widelyseparated from legs III and IV. There are 2 pairs of prodorsal hair-like setae (JEPP-SON et al. 1975).CONCLUSIONS1. On ornamental plants in glasshouses, we recorded 3 species of tarsonemid<strong>mites</strong> as pests: Polyphagotarsonemus latus, very common on many cut flowers andpotted plants; Phytonemus pallidus pallidus, very rare on azaleas and chrysanthemum,not found on cyclamens; and Steneotarsonemus laticeps, associated withamaryllidaceous plants, mainly Hippeastrum spp.2. Phytonemus pallidus asteris causes serious damage in the field on late summer-floweringperennial asters: Aster dumosus and A. novi-belgii.Acknowledgments: We thank Dr WOJCIECH MAGOWSKI, A. Mickiewicz University, Poznañ, foridentification of Phytonemus pallidus asteris.REFERENCESDENMARK H. A. 2000. Broad mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks) (Arachnida: Acarina:<strong>Tarsonemid</strong>ae). EENY-183. University of Florida. IFAS Extension, http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu,3 pp.JEPPSON L. R., KEIFER H. H., BAKER E. W. 1975. Mites injurious to economic plants. Ch. 10.<strong>Tarsonemid</strong>ae Kramer. pp. 285–305, University of California Press, Berkeley.KARL VON E. 1965. Untersuchungen zur Morphologie und Ökologie von <strong>Tarsonemid</strong>en gärtnerischerKulturpflanzen. I. Tarsonemus pallidus Banks. Biol. Zentralblatt. 47–80.KARNKOWSKI W. 1995. Method for examination of Narcissus bulbs to detect the bulb scale mite(Steneotarsonemus laticeps Helbert) (Acarina: <strong>Tarsonemid</strong>ae). Proc. Symp. On “Advancy ofAcarology in Poland”, Siedlce, September 26–27, 1995 (BOCZEK J., IGNATOWICZ S., Eds),pp. 106–110.LANE A. 1979. Bulb scale mite. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Leaflet 456, 6 pp.£ABANOWSKI G. S., £ABANOWSKA B. H., SUSKI Z. W., 1990. New species of <strong>mites</strong> (Acarina) inthe fauna of Poland. Zesz. Probl. Post. Nauk Rol., 373: 9–17.PUNDT L. 2005. Managing cyclamen <strong>mites</strong> and broad <strong>mites</strong> in Greenhouse eith new images January2005. http://www.hort.uconn.edu/ipm/greenhs/htms/cycl<strong>mites</strong>.htm, 3 pp.SOIKA G., £ABANOWSKI G. S., BRZOZOWSKA-MICHALAK J. 2004. The occurrence of phytophagous<strong>mites</strong> and insects on perennials in botanical gardens and urban areas in Poland. In: Protectionof plant collections against pests and diseases (WIECH K., ZEMANEK B., Eds). Vol. II, pp. 30–37, Oficyna Wydawnicza TEXT, Kraków.Associate editor: ANNA SKORACKA