Phytoseiidae (Acari: Parasitiformes: Mesostigmata) associados a plantas em três biomas no estado do Mato Grosso.

Abstract

Phytoseiidae is one of the most well studied mite families due to their use in biological control programs. However, few studies were conducted in natural environments in the southwest region of Mato Grosso state, Brazil. Therefore, the objective of this study was to perform a survey of Phytoseiidae mites in the southwest region of Mato Grosso state, Brazil. Samplings were carried out in three areas, representing the following: Cerrado (CE), Amazon Forest (FA) and Pantanal (PA) regions. Five species of native plants with a common occurrence among the areas were selected, as well as five others exclusive for each biome in total five individuals from each plant species were collected. The samples were washed in buckets using 30% alcohol, and the mites were removed using 50 μm diameter sieves, mounted on microscopy slides, and then identified a phase contrast optical microscope. Thirty species belonging to 15 genera were recorded in the three areas: Cerrado (15 species), Amazon Forest (14) and Pantanal (23). The most abundant species in this study belongs to the genus Amblyseius: A. acalyphus, A. aerialis and A. chiapensis. In the Cerrado the most abundant were A. acalyphus, A. chiapensis and Typhlodromips furcus; in the Amazonian Forest were A. aerialis, A. chiapensis and Euseius concordis; lastly in the Pantanal were A. acalyphus, A. aerialis and T. furcus. The plants that harbored the greatest richness were common to the three biomes: Cecropia pachystachya (Urticaceae) (11 species) and Physocalymma scaberrimum (Lithraceae) (12). Besides these, other plants studied here harbored great richness of phytoseiid mites, being able to reservoir these predatory mites and consequently providing an ecosystem service. New studies should be conducted in the region, with sampling in more areas and more host plants, to better understand the diversity of mites in this family in the southwest region of the state of Mato Grosso.