Ochyronemus, a new genus of the tarsonemid tribe Pseudotarsonemoidini (Acari Heterostigmatina) from Mexico

Authors: MAGOWSKI, W. - A Mickiewicz University; REZENDE, J. - Sao Paulo State University (UNESP); Ochoa, Ronald

Submitted to: Insects
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/31/2024
Publication Date: 1/6/2025
Citation: Magowski, W.L., Rezende, J.M., Ochoa, R. 2025. Ochyronemus, a new genus of the tarsonemid tribe Pseudotarsonemoidini (Acari Heterostigmatina) from Mexico. Insects. 16(1):46. e16010046. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16010046.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16010046

Interpretive Summary: A new genus and new species of white mites are described using light microscopy. These new genus and species are associated with bark beetles. There are several fungal and bacterial diseases complex associated with the beetles and the mites. Bark beetles cause millions of dollars of damage to the forestry industry of the United States. The study of mites associated with bark beetles is key for management and biocontrol alternatives. These results are important to forestry, tree growers, plant protection officers, National parks, entomologists, pathologists, biologists and agriculture scientists in the government, at universities, and at private universities who are interested in how plant diseases spread.

Technical Abstract: A new genus for the Tribe Psedotarsonemidini of the family Tarsonemidae is erected in order to accomodate undescribed mites associated with bark beetles in Mexico. The new, monotypic genus Ochyronemus with the species O. jaliscoe being diagnostically and phylogeneticaly closest to the derived Pseudotarsonemoides- Tarsobisulcus cluster of the Pseudotarsonemoidini and possesses an intermediate position between these two genera. Details of the morphology related to its genus – level affiliation, primarily tibiotarsal I claw and leg setation, are compared in the context of the other genera of the tribe.