Brevipalpus mites of economic and quarantine importance - integrating morphology and molecular information to advance their systematics.

Brevipalpus mites are considered the most important pests within the Tenuipalpidae. The three main species, B. californicus (Banks), B. obovatus Donnadieu and B. phoenicis (Geijskes), have been incriminated as vectors of phytovirus. Dissemination of Brevipalpus mites associated to plant material and viruses represent an imminent threat to agriculture and ornamental industries. Systematics and phylogeny of Brevipalpus mites is of concern. The three mentioned species have been consistently confused and misidentified. The hypothesis that B. phoenicis represents a species complex has been analyzed. The quarantine species, B. chilensis Baker, is morphologically very close to B. obovatus, a species found worldwide, and taxonomists have discussed their possible synonymy.Abstract 32