''Antennoseius'' is a genus of

mite Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods) of two large orders, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari. However, most recent genetic analyses do not recover the two as eac ...

s in the family

Ascidae Ascidae is a family of mites in the order Mesostigmata. Description Ascidae are mites characterised by: seta ''st4'' usually on unsclerotised cuticle, peritrematic shield broadly connected to exopodal shield beside coxa IV, fixed Chelicerae, c ...

. As of 2021, it comprised 59 species mostly in subgenera ''Antennoseius'' (34 species) and ''Vitzthumia'' (19 species), as well as six species not assigned to a subgenus.

Description

Females of ''Antennoseius'' have two distinct shields on their dorsal surface. On the ventral surface, there is a sternal shield (usually with three pairs of

setae In biology, setae (; seta ; ) are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Depending partly on their form and function, protostome setae may be called macrotrichia, chaetae ...

), an epigynial shield that is rounded posteriorly, and either an anal shield (with circum-anal setae) or a subtriangular ventrianal shield (bearing 1 or 2 pairs of setae in addition to the circum-anal setae). The two subgenera can be distinguished by the presence (''Vitzthumia'') or absence (''Antennoseius'') of ambulacra and claws on the first leg pair. Additionally, some species of ''Vitzthumia'' have two distinct morphs, a free-living morph and a

phoretic Phoresis or phoresy is a temporary Commensalism, commensalistic relationship when an organism (a phoront or phoretic) attaches itself to a host organism solely for travel. It has been seen in tick, ticks and mite, mites since the 18th century, ...

morph. The free-living morph has much of its soft body

cuticle A cuticle (), or cuticula, is any of a variety of tough but flexible, non-mineral outer coverings of an organism, or parts of an organism, that provide protection. Various types of "cuticle" are non- homologous, differing in their origin, structu ...

with microtubercles superimposed on striae and on the shields. The phoretic morph has generally smooth cuticle, and its sternal shield may be eroded posteriorly so that ''st3'' (the third seta pair) is on soft cuticle instead of the shield. Males are known for only a few species. In the male of ''Antennoseius'' ''perseus'', the two dorsal shields are partially fused together, ventrally there is a sterno-genital shield (bearing 5 pairs of setae) and a ventrianal shield (bearing 7 pairs of setae in addition to the circum-anal setae), and each

chelicera The chelicerae () are the mouthparts of the subphylum Chelicerata, an arthropod group that includes arachnids, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. Commonly referred to as "jaws", chelicerae may be shaped as either articulated fangs, or as a type ...

bears a spermatodactyl (structure used to transfer sperm to the female), among other differences.

Ecology

''Antennoseius'' occur in

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

(especially soil that is moist),

plant litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall, or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that has fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituent ...

salt marshes A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open Seawater, saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the ti ...

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...

, and nests of various animals (

mice A mouse (: mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

and

ants Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...

). Adult females of this genus often attach phoretically to

ground beetles Ground beetles are a large, cosmopolitan family of beetles, the Carabidae, with more than 40,000 species worldwide, around 2,000 of which are found in North America and 2,700 in Europe. As of 2015, it is one of the 10 most species-rich animal fa ...

for transport. Diet has been studied for only a few species, but these mainly feed on small invertebrates including other mites,

nematodes The nematodes ( or ; ; ), roundworms or eelworms constitute the phylum Nematoda. Species in the phylum inhabit a broad range of environments. Most species are free-living, feeding on microorganisms, but many are parasitic. Parasitic worms (he ...

and

insects Insects (from Latin ') are hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of jointed ...

Species

* '' Antennoseius arvensis'' Kaluz, 1994 * '' Antennoseius boskopensis'' Ryke, 1962 * '' Antennoseius bregetovae'' Chelebiev, 1984 * '' Antennoseius calathi'' Fain, Noti & Dufrene, 1995 * '' Antennoseius chirae'' Jordaan, Loots & Theron, 1987 * '' Antennoseius dargomensis'' Barilo, 1987 * '' Antennoseius davidovae'' Eidelberg, 1994 * ''

Antennoseius deyi ''Antennoseius deyi'' is a species of mite in the family Ascidae Ascidae is a family of mites in the order Mesostigmata. Description Ascidae are mites characterised by: seta ''st4'' usually on unsclerotised cuticle, peritrematic shield broa ...

'' Bhattacharyya, 1994 * ''Antennoseius fecundus'' Berlese, 1916 * '' Antennoseius garurensis'' Bhattacharyya, 1994 * '' Antennoseius ghilarovi'' Balan, 1988 * '' Antennoseius hyperboreus'' Nikolskij, 1988 * '' Antennoseius janus'' Lindquist & Walter, 1989 * '' Antennoseius koroljevae'' Chelebiev, 1984 * '' Antennoseius kurumanensis'' Jordaan, Loots & Theron, 1987 * '' Antennoseius lobochelus'' Halliday, Walter & Lindquist, 1998 * '' Antennoseius longipalpus'' Barilo, 1987 * '' Antennoseius longisetus'' Eidelberg, 2000 * '' Antennoseius makarovae'' Eidelberg, 1994 * '' Antennoseius maltzevi'' Eidelberg, 1994 * '' Antennoseius matalini'' Eidelberg, 2001 * '' Antennoseius matsjuki'' Eidelberg, 2001 * '' Antennoseius multisetus'' Eidelberg, 2000 * '' Antennoseius orientalis'' Bhattacharyya, Sanyal & Bhattacharya, 2003 * '' Antennoseius oudemansi'' (Thor, 1930) * '' Antennoseius ovaliscutalis'' Eidelberg, 2000 * '' Antennoseius ranikhetensis'' Bhattacharyya, 1994 * '' Antennoseius rugosus'' Masan, 1997 * '' Antennoseius shcherbakae'' Balan, 1988 * '' Antennoseius similis'' Eidelberg, 2001 * '' Antennoseius sinicus'' Guo & Gu, 1997 * ''Antennoseius ukrainicus'' Sklyar, 1994 * ''Antennoseius vysotskajae'' Sklyar, 1994

Identification

Key to Chinese species

Key to subgenus ''Vitzthumia''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4771287 Ascidae