Acarina fauna of citrus trees in eastern Mediterranean region of Turkey

Abstract: Acarina includes important pest and predator species in citrus orchards. As pests this group caused important economic losses in recent years. So, Acarina species in citrus orchards were surveyed in Adana, Mersin, Osmaniye and Hatay provinces in eastern Mediterranean Region of Turkey in 2008 and 2009. Citrus leaves, buds, flowers and fruits were individually examined using a 10× hand magnifier and mites were taken by fine brush and preserved in tubes containing 70% ethanol. Collected materials were transferred to specialist for identification. The most common species determined were Amblyseius andersoni Chant, Typhlodromus athiasae Porath and Swirski, Euseius stipulatus (Athias-Henroit), Euseius scutalis (Athias-Henriot), Paraseiulus talbii (Athias-Henriot), Paraseiulus triporus Chant & Yoshida-Shaul, Euseius finlandicus Oudemans, Kampimodromus aberrans (Oudemans), Zetzellia mali Ewing as predators; Tydeus californicus Banks as neutral; Panonychus citri McGregor, Panonychus ulmi Koch, Tetranychus urticae Koch, Brevipalpus lewisi McGregor, Phyllocoptruta oleivora (Ashmead) and Aceria sheldoni (Ewing) as pests. Panonychus citri and Phillocoptruta oleivora were considered as the most common pests, Amblyseius andersoni and Typhlodromus athiasae as the most common predators. Citrus sinensis and C. limon have more number of acarina species compared to C. reticulata and C. paradisi.