Faunal account of the predatory mites (Acari: Cunaxidae and Phytoseiidae) from the Agri-horticultural crops of south Bengal with three new records from India

Abstract

The paper deals with the study of predatory mites which was undertaken from January, 2015 to March, 2017 to explore the predatory mite fauna from different agri-horticultural crops in 11 southern districts of West Bengal. A total number of 33 species of predatory mites were recorded with their predatory habits, prey preference, impact on prey population and the inhabiting plants among which 10 species under 2 genera are of family Cunaxidae and 23 species under 7 genera are of family Phytoseiidae. Phytoseiids were found more diversed and abundant than family Cunaxidae. One species namely Amblyseius impressus of Phytoseiidae and two species of Cunaxidae viz., Cunaxa evansi and Dactyloscirus fuscus were reported first time from India. The current investigation reports the diversity of predatory mites harbouring various types of agriculturally important crops of South Bengal with their distribution, habitat specificity, prey preference and effective predatory behaviour.