Euseius citri

Euseius citri (Van der Merwe & Ryke) (Fig. 8) Amblyseius (Typhlodromalus) citri Van der Merwe & Ryke, 1964: 273. Amblyseius citri, McMurtry, 1980: 153 FEMALE (Specimens measured – South Africa: 10). Dorsum – Dorsal shield lightly reticulated, 324 ­372 long and 211­246 wide. Setae j1 35­38, j3 35­38, j4 13­14, j5 13­14, j6 22, J2 22, J5 6, z2 16­22, z4 28­35, z5 13­16, Z1 19­ 22, Z4 24­26, Z5 54­60, s4 61­65, S2 22­24, S4 22­26, S5 22­23, r3 19, R1 13. Dorsal setae smooth, except Z5 which is serrated. Peritreme – Reaching level of setae j3. Venter – All ventral shield smooth. Distances between ST1­ST3 60­62, ST2­ST2 66­ 68, ST5­ST5 79­81. A single metapodal shield. Ventrianal shield 108­113 long, 60­66 wide at ZV2 level and 72­79 wide at anus level. Chelicera – Movable digit 26­27 long, with one tooth; fixed digit 26­28 long, with 4 teeth. Spermatheca – Calyx tubular, slightly bulged near atrium and slightly flared distally, 19­23 long; atrium distinct. Legs –Macrosetae sharp­tipped: Sge II 22, Sge III 28­32, Sge IV 47­60, Sti IV 41, St IV 57; chaetotaxy of genu II 2­2/0, 2/0­1, genu III 1­2/1,2/0­1. MALE (Specimens measured – South Africa: 1). Dorsum – Dorsal shield 277 long and 239 wide. Setae j1 32, j3 35, j4 13, j5 13, j6 19, J2 19, J5 6, z2 19, z4 28, z5 13, Z1 19, Z4 19, Z5 50, s4 50, S2 22, S4 22, S5 22, r3 16, R1 13. Peritreme – Reaching level between z2 and z4. Venter – Ventrianal shield 117 long, 217 wide at anterior corners. Chelicera – Shaft of spermatodactyl 22 long. Legs – Sge II 19, Sge III 22, Sge IV 41, Sti III 22, Sti IV 35, St IV 44. REMARKS: Euseius citri is similar to E. addoensis (Van der Merwe & Ryke) and only differs in the length of seta Z4, that ranges from 23­29 in E. citri and 16­20 in E. addoensis. McMurtry (1980) conducted hybridization tests and showed that these two species are incompatible. E. citri can reduce the numbers of the citrus thrips Scirtothrips aurantii Faure on citrus in the northeastern provinces of South Africa and Swaziland, but does not occur in high enough numbers to be commercially effective (Grout 1994). SPECIMENS EXAMINED: South Africa: Zebediela, Northern Province, on Citrus sp., 04­III­1985, E.A. Ueckermann.Published as part of Moraes, G. J. De, Ueckermann, E. A., Oliveira, A. R. & Yaninek, J. S., 2001, Phytoseiid mites of the genus Euseius (Acari: Phytoseiidae) from Sub­Saharan Africa, pp. 1-70 in Zootaxa 3 on pages 16-17, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.461649