Predatory mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae) from Serbia: review and recent reports
2026 - Volume: 66 Issue: Suppl pages: 81
https://doi.org/10.24349/b696-hsqf
ICA 2026 - XVII International Congress of Acarology, 20-24 July 2026, Montpellier
Keywords
Phytoseiid mites
Diversity
Serbia
Taxonomy
Survey
Abstract
With more than 2700 recorded species, Phytoseiidae is the most important group of plant inhabiting predatory mites worldwide. Although Serbia is the third largest country in South East Europe, its phytoseiid fauna is still inadequately known. Available data were generated from limited surveys in the country in the past few decades, published in large part in conference abstracts and papers published in Serbian journals. The aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive review of phytoseiid species recorded from Serbia and to update this list with new data obtained from a recent survey Mites were collected in the growing season (May - October) of 2012 to 2024, in the examination of leaf samples in search of spider mites and associated phytoseiids. They were preserved in 70% ethanol, mounted in Hoyer’s medium and identified using phase- and interference-contrast microscopes. Presently, ESALQ phytoseiid database refers to the presence of 32 phytoseiid species in Serbia, including one species in each of the genera Euseius, Kampimodromus, Proprioseiopsis and Typhloseiulus; two in Neoseiulella; three in Paraseiulus; four in Neoseiulus and also in Phytoseius; five in Amblyseius and nine in Typhlodromus. Eleven additional species should be added to that list, including one in each of Amblyseius, Graminaseius, Proprioseiopsis and Transeius; two in Neoseiulus as well as in Typhloseiulus and three in Typhlodromus, recorded in Serbian journals and conference documents, and still not reported in that database. In the survey conducted between 2012 and 2024, six new phytoseiid species were found, namely Amblyseius obtusus Koch, Euseius amissibilis, Meshkov, Euseius stipulatus Athias-Henriot, Neoseiulus barkeri Hughes, Phytoseius finitimus Ribaga, and Typhlodromus (Typhlodromus) leptodactylus Wainstein. These are here reported for the first time from Serbia. Considering that no extensive efforts to determine those mites have been conducted in the country, it is conceived that the real number of phytoseiid species is significantly higher as probably shown in future scientific works.
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