Phytoseiidae Of Florida

Mites of the family Phytoseiidae are predominately predatory. They are the most important mite predators of plant-feeding mites. They are moderate to large size, flattened-oval to nearly hemispherical in shape and move about readily on strong robust legs. The life cycle from egg to adult is completed in one to three weeks.

Phytoseiids have been collected on all continents and from the arctic to the tropics. They are found in a number of different terrestrial habitats. They are abundant in ground surface litter such as dead and rotting leaves, rotting logs and limbs, sod accumulations, fallen bromeliads, tidal debris and trash. Many species also are common on the trunks, limbs, leaves, flowers, and fruits of plants including trees, shrubs, herbs, grasses, mosses, and fungi. Some species are found in stored plant and animal fibers and food materials. Others are found in mammal and bird burrows, dens and nests, and a few have been taken from the soil.

Although the food habits of phytoseiids have not been studied intensively, published accounts indicate a wide range of foods. Certain genera are known to feed predominately on spider mites, others feed readily on the erineum or rust mites. · At least one genus is known to feed exclusively on saprophytic mites, and another feeds and develops readily on nematodes. One genus is believed to feed and reproduce entirely on pollen, and another is known to feed readily on spider mites when pollen is a part of the diet. Several species have been demonstrated to survive for two or more weeks on plant juices obtained from leaf hairs, and one species has survived for three months on water. Tiny soft-bodied insects such as scale insect and whitefly crawlers also serve as survival foods for certain species. The tiny nearly edentate chelicerae of some genera appear to be adapted for mite egg or pollen feeding; the large multidentate chelicerae of other genera indicate larger prey or a broader food range, and the massive chelicerae of one genus could be an adaptation for very large, possibly hard-bodied insects or mites.

The economic importance of Phytoseiidae has, in the past, been the subject of much scientific controversy. Recent carefully conducted observational and experimental research has demonstrated, however, that some species are potentially or actually capable of controlling infestations of injurious mites on economically important agricultural crops. The potential importance of species that inhabit ground surface litter, stored products, and animal nests has not been investigated.

Phytoseiidae of Florida (Acarina: Mesostigrnata) is the sixth publication in the series dealing with insects, arachnids and other arthropods in Florida and other land areas in and around the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. The taxonomic, ecologic, biologic, zoogeographic and economic information presented here for the eighty-six species presently known from the state must be considered preliminary. Many additional species will probably be collected from the study area and much additional biologic research is needed.

The senior author, Martin H. Muma, was born in Topeka, Kansas, July 24, 1916. His professional training was obtained at Western Maryland College Extension Night School in 1933-34, Frostburg State Teachers College in 1935-36, and the University of Maryland in 1936-43. He received his B.S. degree in 1939, his M.S. in 1940, and his Ph. D. in 1943. From 1940 to 1945, he served as an Instructor in Entomology and Assistant Entomologist at the University of Maryland; from 1945 to 1951, he was Extension Entomologist and then Associate Entomologist, Associate Professor, and Associate Curator of The Museum at the University of Nebraska.

Since 1951 he has been an Associate Entomologist, Associate Professor, Entomologist, and Professor at the University of Florida Citrus Experiment Station located near Lake Alfred, Florida. His present projects involve research on the taxonomy, biology, and natural control of citrus mites, the natural and ecological control of injurious citrus insects and the biological control potential for the Caribbean Fruit Fly.

Although Dr. Muma’s formal education and official professional experience have been in the field of entomology, his favorite avocational fields are arachnology and speleology. In entomology he has investigated and contributed to the taxonomy, biology, ecology, and control of deciduous fruit insects, field crop insects, livestock parasites, and citrus insects. In arachnology he has studied and contributed to the taxonomy, biology, and ecology of mites, spiders, tarantulas, scorpions, whip-scorpions, and solpugids. In speleology he has examined and contributed to cave biology, cave ecology, and cave terminology. He is the author of a book, “Common Spiders of Maryland,” and the author or coauthor of 147 scientific bulletins or papers, 48 in entomology, 66 in arachnology, 21 in extension entomology, and 12 in speleology. His synoptic review of the North American, Central American, and West Indian Solpugida was published earlier in 1970 as Volume 5 of Arthropods of Florida and Neighboring Land Areas.

The junior author, Harold A. Denmark, was born in Lamont, Florida, July 3, 1921. He attended public schools in Winter Garden, Florida. In 1941 he joined the United States Navy and served six years, much of this time with the Submarine Service in the Pacific Theatre of Operation, discharged as a Signalman First Class. He received his B.S.A. degree with honors from the University of Florida in 1952. The following year he received his M.S. degree from the same institution. During this period he served as an interim instructor in the Department of Entomology.

In July 1953 he became an Entomologist with the State Plant Board of Florida ( which, in 1961, became the Division of Plant Industry of the Florida Department of Agriculture). In July 1958 he became Chief Entomologist. He is the author of 51 arthropod publications, 29 pertaining to mites.