Fauna of New Zealand Number 52 Raphignathoidea (Acari: Prostigmata)

Qing-Hai Fan and Zhi-Qiang Zhang

Raphignathoid mites

Mites of the superfamily Raphignathoidea are biological control agents of spider mites, eriophyid mites, and scale insects in agriculture and forestry. The majority of the species are free-living predators, but a few are phytophages, feeding on moss, and symbionts or parasites of insects.

The superfamily can be dated back at least 56 million years. It belongs to the supraorder Acariformes, order Prostigmata, and comprises about 770 species, and 57 genera in eleven families. They are worldwide in distribution, abundant in most of the geographical regions, and are even found in the Antarctic region.

In this contribution the mite superfamily Raphignathoidea is comprehensively revised. Keys to world families and genera are provided. The taxonomy, biology, and ecology of world Raphignathoidea are briefly reviewed so the 76 species, including 21 new species, now recognised from New Zealand can be placed in context. The species belong to 20 genera (including 1 new genus) and 5 families. Known stages (of specimens available) are diagnosed, keyed, described, and illustrated with line drawings, and notes are provided on the taxonomic references, habitats, and distribution of each species.

Contributor Qing-Hai Fan graduated with a PhD in entomology from Fujian Agricultural University. He has been a professor of entomology at Fujian Agricultural and Forestry University since 2002. He came to New Zealand in 2003 to study bulb mites with Dr Zhi-Qiang Zhang as an acarologist in Landcare Research, and then worked on the devastating honeybee pest, Varroa mite, as a research associate at Massey University. He has written more than 50 journal papers on the systematics, biology, and control of mites and insects and published a book on the Australasia and Oceania bulb mites in collaboration with Dr Zhi-Qiang Zhang.

Contributor Zhi-Qiang Zhang received his PhD in entomology for research on mite predator-prey ecology from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. In 1999, he moved to New Zealand and has since been the acarologist for Landcare Research, working on mite systematics and biology. Dr Zhang holds an honorary research fellowship at the Natural History Museum, an adjunct professorship at Fudan University, and an honorary professorship at Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences (Fujian, China). He has published several monographs on mites and more than 100 refereed papers on arthropod systematics, ecology, and pest management.

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Author: Qing-Hai Fan and Zhi-Qiang Zhang
ISBN: 978-0-47-809371-1
Publisher: Manaaki Whenua Press
Publication date: 2005
Pages: 400
Format: Paperback