Blattisocius


Blattisocius is a genus of mites in the family Blattisociidae.

Description

Adult females of Blattisocius have a dorsal shield that is undivided and lacks midlateral incisions. The sternal shield either has 3 pairs of setae or has 2 pairs with the 3rd pair st3 on partially separate platelets. Setae st4 are located either on soft cuticle or on the corners of the sternal shield platelets. There are no isolated metasternal plates. The epigynal shield is truncate posteriorly. The ventrianal shield ranges from subtriangular to bullet-shaped, and bears 3-4 pairs of preanal setae and 3 circumanal setae. The adanal setae are inserted anterior to the posterior margin of the anus. The peritrematic shield is slender, being barely wider than the stigma at the level of the stigma. The corniculi are slender and narrowly separated. The fixed digit of the chelicera has a filiform pilus dentilis. The tectum is convex in shape.

Ecology

Blattisocius have been found on/in live plants, vegetables, stored foods, animal nests, live insects and insect cultures.
They are generally considered to be predators of microarthropods. The species B. patagiorum is believed to be parasitic on noctuid moths.

Species

Blattisocius aegypticus Nasr, Nawar & Afifi, 1988 Blattisocius apis Basha & Yousef, 2001 Blattisocius apisassociae Chinniah & Mohanasundaram, 1995 Blattisocius capsicum Basha & Yousef, 2001Blattisocius changjiangensis Blattisocius daci Blattisocius dentriticus Blattisocius dolichus Ma, 2006Blattisocius edentata Blattisocius everti Britto, Lopes & De Moraes, 2012 Blattisocius incisus Bhattacharyya, 1977 Blattisocius keegani Fox, 1947Blattisocius mali Blattisocius patagiorum Treat, 1966Blattisocius quadridentatus Haines, 1979 Blattisocius tarsalis Blattisocius thaicocofloris Oliveira, Chandrapatya & De Moraes, 2015Blattisocius urticana
Possibly also: Blattisocius othreisae Chinniah & Mohanasundaram, 1995