Polyphagotarsonemus latus ( Banks 1904 )

Polyphagotarsonemus latus ( Banks 1904)

Material examined — 1 ♀ (Ünye, N41°5′3.21″ E37°11′12.07″, 241 m, 18. VII.2018)

Remarks — Banks (1904) first described this species as Tarsonemus latus from mango buds in Washington D.C., USA ( Denmark 1980). This phytophagous mite is distributed worldwide ( Fasulo 2004). It has been reported in various regions including Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America, and the Pacific Islands. The species is commonly found in tropical and subtropical regions but can also occur in temperate areas. It is a globally significant agricultural pest with the ability to feed on plants from over 60 botanical families including Solanaceae , Cucurbitaceae , and Malvaceae ( Grinberg et al. 2005 ; Ovando-Garay

2022). In Türkiye, it was first recorded from citrus and Morus alba L. ( Moraceae ) leaves in Antalya by Çobanoğlu (1995). It was also collected from vineyards, mulberry, cotton, rubber, peach ( Uygun et al. 1995), vegetables ( Uygun et al. 1995 ; Bulut and Göçmen 2000 ;

Can and Çobanoğlu 2010 ; Soysal and Akyazı 2018), tea plantations (Özman Sullivan et al.

2006, 2007; Diler et al. 2022) and persimmon ( Akyazı et al. 2016 a, 2017). This pest targets the young parts of plants and can inject toxic saliva into their tissues. Although there is no record of its damage symptoms on kiwi, feeding by this pest causes twisted, hardened, and distorted growth in the terminal tips of a plant. Damaged leaves turn coppery in color and curl. Heavily infested plants will drop their leaves, fail to flower, and produce bronze, cracked, or blemished fruits. Since these mites are microscopic, they can only be detected when the symptoms become visible ( Akyazı et al. 2022a). Due to its high reproductive potential, it can quickly reach damaging densities ( CABI 2021). Before 1992, no specific natural enemies of P.

latus were known. Gerson (1992) first summarized the control of P. latus by predatory mites belonging to Amblyseius , Euseius , and Typhlodromus species on various crops worldwide.

Among the phytoseiid mites found in this study, Amblyseius herbicolus (Chant) ( Mesostigmata : Phytoseiidae ) was found as associated with P. latus ( Luypaert 2015) .