Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #421285
Research Project: Systematics of Acari and Hemiptera: Plant Pests, Predators, and Disease Vectors

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: Eriophyes pouteriae sp. nov., a new mite species infesting Pouteria sapota

Author
item DEGIOSA, MARCELLO - Bari University
item DELILLO, E. - Dipartimento Di Scienze E Tecnologie Ambientali
item ALINE, DANIELE - Federal University Of Sao Paulo
item REVYNTHI, ALEXANDRA - University Of Florida
item ANDRADE, DANIEL JUNIOR - Sao Paulo State University (UNESP)
item Ochoa, Ronald

Submitted to: Insects
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/4/2024
Publication Date: 12/6/2024
Citation: Degiosa, M., Delillo, E., Aline, D.T., Revynthi, A.M., Andrade, D.D., Ochoa, R. 2024. Eriophyes pouteriae sp. nov., a new mite species infesting Pouteria sapota. Insects. 15(12):972. e15120972. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects15120972.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/insects15120972

Interpretive Summary: Mamey sapote is a tropical tree fruit native to Central America and grown in the U.S. in Southern Florida, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. The sweet fruit is a good source of Vitamins A and C, potassium, and fiber. Trees with abnormal leaf growth, including stunted leaves, outward curling, leaf yellowing, and diminishing overall vigor were found in multiple locations in Southern Florida. In this study, numerous plant samples were evaluated, and a new mite species was found. Morphological and molecular descriptions of the new gall mite species were developed to aid identification and future detection of this mite by biologists, ecologists, entomologists and quarantine officers involved with pest control.

Technical Abstract: Pouteria sapota, or “mamey sapote”, is a tropical fruit tree native to Central America and South-ern Mexico, producing sweet, nutrient and vitamin-rich fruit. Several insect pests are known to infest P. sapota but none have been associated with plant growth alterations. Eriophyoid mites are well known to casue plant malformations, but mites that cause this type of damage to ma-mey sapote have not been reported. Trees with abnormal leaf growth, including stunted leaves, outward curling, leaf yellowing, and diminishing overall tree vigor were found in multiple lo-cations in Southern Florida and one location in Brazil. Numerous plant samples were studied for the presence of minute eriophyoid-like mites, and a new species was found. It was morphologi-cally described and DNA fragments (the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), the nuclear subunit D2 region in 28S rDNA and the ITS nuclear regions) were PCR-amplified and sequenced. Morphological and molecular descriptions of the new species, named E. pouteriae sp. nov., are provided to aid identification and future detection of this mite. Even though several species within Eriophyes have been reported on other Sapotaceae species, no eriophyoid has been associated with mamey sapote up to now.