Species complexes of predatory mites and spider mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae, Tetranychidae) on cultivated and wild apple trees in Serbia

Abstract

The species complexes of leaf-inhabiting mites on apples were studied on actively cultivated and neglected apple orchards as well as on wild apple trees in Serbia, from 1981 to 2013. Thirty-nine species of 11 families were found on Malus domestica Borkh; 25 species of 6 families were found on Malus sylvestris (L.) Miller and Malus pumila Miller. A complex of 18 phytoseiid and 9 spider mite species was detected. Four phytoseiid and three spider mite species were found in commercial apple orchards, 13 phytoseiid and 5 spider mite species in neglected apple stands, and 12 phytoseiid and 7 spider mite species in forest habitats. Predatory mites Euseius finlandicus (Oudemans) and Amblyseius andersoni (Chant) and spider mites Panonychus ulmi Koch and Amphitetranychus viennensis (Zacher) had the highest constancy of occurrence. Positive and significant (or very significant) association was detected for 16 pairs of species. The pairs of phytoseids-spider mites Amb. andersoni-Pan. ulmi, Amb. andersoni-Tetranychus turkestani Ugarov et Nikolskii, and Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) rhenanus (Oudemans)-Te. turkestani had the highest interspecific association indices. Higher mite diversity was found on wild than on cultivated apples, and higher diversity on neglected than on cultivated apples. The complexes of phytoseiids and spider mites had uniform composition in the cultivated orchards, while their composition in the neglected stands was nonuniform and extremely heterogeneous on the wild apple trees.