Polyphagotarsonemus latus
(broad mite)

Pictures

Picture	Title	Caption	Copyright
Title Tea mite on leaflet Caption The yellow tea mite P. latus on rubber leaflet. Copyright Ho Cheng Tuck/Tropical Press Sdn Bhd	Tea mite on leaflet	The yellow tea mite P. latus on rubber leaflet.	Ho Cheng Tuck/Tropical Press Sdn Bhd

Identity

Preferred Scientific Name

• Polyphagotarsonemus latus Banks

Preferred Common Name

• broad mite

Other Scientific Names

• Hemitarsonemus latus Banks
• Hemitarsonemus translucens
• Polyphagotarsonemus translucens
• Tarsonemus latus
• Tarsonemus phaseoli
• Tarsonemus translucens (Green)

International Common Names

• English: chilli mite; citrus silver mite; jute white mite; rubber leaf mite; tropical mite; yellow tea mite
• Spanish: acaro amarillo; acaro blanco tropical; acaro tostador de los cítricos; aranuela blanca
• French: acarien jaune; tarsoneme du cottonnier; tarsoneme trapu

Local Common Names

• Brazil: acaro branco do mamdeiro; acaro tropical
• Denmark: skudtopmide; topskudmide
• Germany: breit-milbe; gelbe tee-milbe; weisse milbe
• Italy: acaro giallo
• Netherlands: begoniamijt; theemijt geele
• Norway: skottopmidd
• Sweden: skott-toppkvalster

EPPO code

• HEMTLA (Polyphagotarsonemus latus)

Summary of Invasiveness

The broad mite P. latus is spread worldwide. In the tropics and subtropics it reproduces the whole year round and has a wide host range. In temperate climates it is a serious pest on vegetables and ornamental plants in glasshouses. Due to its high reproductive potential, it can reach damaging densities within a very short time.

Taxonomic Tree

• Domain: Eukaryota
•     Kingdom: Metazoa
•         Phylum: Arthropoda
•             Subphylum: Chelicerata
•                 Class: Arachnida
•                     Subclass: Acari
•                         Superorder: Acariformes
•                             Suborder: Prostigmata
•                                 Family: Tarsonemidae
•                                     Genus: Polyphagotarsonemus
•                                         Species: Polyphagotarsonemus latus

Description

Adult females of P. latus are small (ca 200 µm) and have an unornamented dorsal shield. The prodorsal shield is not enlarged to cover the stigmata. Trichobothria on the prodorsum are capitate. Dorsal idiosomal setae are short. There are four pairs of setae on the dorsum of propodosoma in the male. Tibia and tarsus IV of the male are fused and bear a button-like claw.

Lindquist (1986) provided a detailed description and illustration of this species.

Distribution Table

The distribution in this summary table is based on all the information available. When several references are cited, they may give conflicting information on the status. Further details may be available for individual references in the Distribution Table Details section which can be selected by going to Generate Report.

Hosts/Species Affected

Host Plants and Other Plants Affected

Growth Stages

Symptoms

P. latus symptoms vary on different plants (Gerson, 1992). Edges of damaged young leaves usually curl. The foliage often becomes rigid and appears bronzed or scorched. Feeding of mites on the under surface of young leaves causes Gerbera to become rigid and rolled under at the edges. As leaves age, they may split, producing a ragged appearance of different shapes. Infested young potato leaves initially have oily black spots on the under surface, which later turn reddish. The plants become rosetted and then die back. Symptoms on red chilli pepper (Capsicum sp.) are similar. On lemons, this species produces multiple buds on citrus seedlings and discoloration on the skin of fruit. Damage on cucumber, aubergines and Solanum laciniatum includes crinkling, cracking, discoloration and malformations similar to those caused by a hormonal weedkiller. When grapevine is attacked, young leaf edges turn downwards, followed by browning and necrosis.

When chilli leaves are attacked, the leaf tissues disintegrate and the epidermal layer of the infested leaves thickens, with both the pallisade and spongy parenchymatous tissues becoming irregular and the cell nuclei enlarged in severely infested leaves (Karmakar, 1997).

List of Symptoms/Signs

Biology and Ecology

The generation time of P. latus is short. On chilli pepper (Capsicum sp.) the developmental period from egg to adult at 25°C averages 4.1 days for both males and females. Adult female and male longevity is 11.4 and 15.3 days, respectively. Each female lays 25 eggs. The female/male sex ratio is 2.8 in the laboratory, and 2.3 on seedlings in the greenhouse (Ho, 1991).

P. latus eggs are laid on the underside of leaves, tender stems, fruits, flower peduncles and flowers. Attack occurs during a short period of time. Discoloration of tissues is produced by mite feeding; fruits become deformed or fail to develop. Severely infected fruits fall. Leaves of attacked plants are stunted and yield is significantly reduced. Symptoms remain for a long period of time after control.

P. latus disperses by various means. Short-distance movement may be accomplished by walking. Mites may reach far-away uninfested plants by wind. Human transport of infested plants is another way of dispersal for this mite.

There is also evidence that P. latus disperses through insects living on plants. Females of P. latus were observed to have a phoretic relationship with Bemisia tabaci on Phaseolus vulgaris in Colombia and on watermelons in Venezuela. Females of P. latus were found attached to the tarsi and tibiae of B. tabaci (Flechtmann et al., 1990) and B. argentifolii (Fan and Petitt, 1998). The phoretic association between P. latus and insects is quite specific; whiteflies are most attractive to P. latus but other insects such as thrips and aphids are rarely used (Palevsky et al., 2001).

Natural enemies

Notes on Natural Enemies

Waterhouse and Norris (1987) discussed the natural enemy records and pointed out that none are specific to P. latus. They recommended biological control experiments using Typhlodromus stipulatus and Amblyseius ovalis on chilli peppers.

Impact

P. latus is a serious pest of tea, chilli pepper and aubergines in China (Li et al., 1985). It was reported to have destroyed 50% of the bean crop in New Guinea and of the lemon crop in parts of South Africa. It is a pest of cotton in tropical Africa and Brazil. It has a worldwide distribution on many crops (Gerson, 1992).

Damage by P. latus was 100% on sweet peppers (Capsicum sp.) grown in a screenhouse in Taiwan, while aubergines, Datura, chilli pepper and Gerbera were severely damaged (Liu et al., 1991).

Prevention and Control

Chemical Control

P. latus may be difficult to control on certain plants. On the curly leaves of Psophocarpus tetragonolobus, dicofol, bromopropylate, azocyclotin and abamectin were not effective (Heungen and Degheele, 1986), presumably because the mites were protected in curly leaves; chinomethionat was more effective. On the more easily treated leaves of castor, all five pesticides tested virtually eliminated the mite population in 2 weeks, and abamectin remained effective for up to 3 weeks.

Dicofol and wettable sulphur were effective against all life stages of P. latus on chilli (Karmakar et al., 1996).

In Sao Paulo, Brazil, abamectin was the most efficient acaricide against P. latus in 12 applications at a range of rates and one application at a higher rate; the higher rate application maximized the production of beans (Scarpellini, 1999). Chlorfenapyr is recommended for the control of P. latus on cotton in Sao Paulo (Santos et al., 1999).

Greenhouse tests in China showed that liuyangmycin (an antibiotic preparation from Streptomyces griseolus) gave the most effective and economical control of P. latus on green chilli peppers (Capsicum). Introduction of female adults or nymphs to plants 5 days after treatment with liuyangmycin resulted in 71.1 and 83% mortality, respectively. The effect declined after 7 days, but mite control for the 3 weeks after treatment remained >98%, which was equivalent to a control by dicofol (Xie et al., 1992). Three applications liuyangmycin to Capsicum in the greenhouse in September-April gave satisfactory control of the pest, with no side-effects.

In India, leaf extracts of Lippia nodiflora and Aloe sp. were shown to significantly reduce the population density of P. latus on chilli when sprayed as 5% aqueous extracts (Palaniswamy and Ragini, 2000). In Brazil, Manipueira, a liquid extract from cassava roots, provided 100% control of P. latus on papaya plants when it was diluted in water (1:3) and sprayed three times at weekly intervals (Ponte, 1996).

Biological Control

In laboratory tests with chilli (Capsicum annuum) leaves, Amblyseius ovalis [Euseius ovalis] at predator-prey ratios of 1:25, 1:50 and 1:100 eliminated P. latus after 9, 12 and 17 days, respectively. Moutia (1958) reported similar results from Mauritius.

In the greenhouses in the 'Land' section of the EPCOT Center, Walt Disney World Vacation Resort, Florida, P. latus was controlled by releasing Neoseiulus barkeri. Fan and Petitt (1994) showed that releasing 10 or more predatory mites per plant of Capsicum cv. Hungarian Wax effectively reduced populations of P. latus from more than 100 mites per leaf to zero in a week. Influx experiments, in which there was continuous immigration of P. latus, showed that a single release of five N. barkeri adults per plant significantly reduced populations of P. latus, but failed to prevent all plants from mite injury, and that three releases of five predatory mites per main stem every 7 days provided adequate protection from mite injury for over 7 weeks.

On beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) and limes in greenhouses in Florida, USA, Neoseiulus californicus was more effective than N. barkeri. In the field, N. californicus, together with a complex of indigenous predaceous mites, kept the density of P. latus below economically damaging levels on lime fruits (Pena and Osborne, 1996).

In greenhouses in China, the release of predatory mites of Neoseiulus cucumeris successfully controlled P. latus on sweet pepper (Wang et al., 2000).

Several species of fungi were tested as possible biocontrol agents against P. latus (Pena et al., 1996). Mortality of P. latus caused by Beauveria bassiana occurred fastest at densities fluctuating between 65 and 125 mites per leaf.

Host-Plant Resistance

Plant resistance is not yet employed as a component in broad mite (P. latus) control, but there is some evidence that the potential exists (Gerson, 1992). In Cuba, a double haploid of sweet pepper (Capsicum sp.) that has higher mean fruit weight and yield per plant was tolerant of P. latus (Depestre and Gomez, 1995). Several chilli cultivars in India are resistant to P. latus (Rao and Ahmed, 2001).

References

Adango E, Onzo A, Hanna R, Atachi P, James B, 2006. Inventory of the mite fauna on Amaranthus cruentus (Amaranthaceae), Solanum macrocarpon and Solanum aethiopicum (Solanaceae) in southern Benin. (Inventaire de la faune des acariens sur Amaranthus cruentus (Amaranthaceae), Solanum macrocarpon et Solanum aethiopicum (Solanaceae) dans le Sud Bénin.) International Journal of Tropical Insect Science, 26(3):155-165. http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FJTI%2FJTI26_03%2FS1742758407223835a.pdf&code=aeabdae6c782ca68f111c69b82140018

Aguilar H, Murillo P, 2012. New hosts and records of plant feeding mites for Costa Rica: interval 2008-2012. (Nuevos hospederos y registros de ácaros fitófagos para Costa Rica: período 2008-2012.) Agronomía Costarricense, 36(2):11-28. http://www.mag.go.cr/rev_agr/index.html

Ahuja DB, 2000. Influence of abiotic factors on the population of mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks) infesting sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) in the arid region of Rajasthan (India). Journal of Entomological Research, 24(1):87-89; 3 ref

Al-Azzazy, M. M., Alhewairini, S. S., 2018. First record of Polyphagotarsonemus latus in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Agricultural Science (Toronto), 10(12), 228-232. http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/jas/article/view/0/37376 doi: 10.5539/jas.v10n12p228

Bernal Areces B, DeronceléCaigñet R, Díaz Pérez T, 2012. Pests and diseases that affect white basil (Ocimum basilicum) growing under protected conditions. (Registro de plagas de albahaca blanca (Ocimum basilicum) bajo condiciones de cultivo protegido.) Fitosanidad, 16(2):87-89. http://www.inisav.cu/fitosanidad/2012/16(2)12.pdf

Bulut E, Gocmen H, Albajes R, Sekeroglu E, 2000. Pests and their natural enemies on greenhouse vegetables in Antalya. Bulletin OILB SROP, 23:33-37

Can M, Çobanoglu S, 2010. Studies on the determination of mite (Acari) species and their hosts of greenhouse vegetables in Kumluca, Antalya. (Kumluca (Antalya) ilçesinde sebze üretimi yapilan seralarda bulunan akar (Acari) türlerinin tanimi ve konukçulari üzerinde çalismalar.) Ziraat Fakültesi Dergisi, Akdeniz Üniversitesi, 23(2):87-92. http://www.akdeniz.edu.tr/ziraat/en/journal.htm

Chiaradia LA, Milanez JM, Vieira Neto J, Meneguzzi Z, 2006. Characterization, damage and management of mites on mate. (Caracterização, danos e manejo de ácaros em erva-mate.) Agropecuária Catarinense, 19(2):50-52. http://www.epagri.rct-sc.br

Cho MR, Jeon HY, La SY, Kim DS, Yiem MS, 1996. Damage of broad mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks), on pepper growth and yield and its chemical control. Korean Journal of Applied Entomology, 35:326-331

CIE, 1986. Distribution Maps of Plant Pests, No. 191. Wallingford, UK: CAB International

Das LK, Singh B, 1998. Integrated management of jute pests. Environment and Ecology, 16:218-219

Depestre T, Gomez O, 1995. New sweet pepper cultivars for Cuban off season production. Capsicum & Eggplant Newsletter. No. 14, 47-49

Dhandapani N, Kumaraswami T, 1985. Persistence of toxicity in some foliar insecticides against sucking pests in chillies. Indian Journal of Plant Protection, 11:20-23

Duong NguyenHai, Thanh HoNgoc, Doan T, Yen NguyenThi, Tam TTM, Dung PhanThanh, Phuong LTT, 1998. Diseases and pests of Hevea brasiliensis in Vietnam. Symposium on natural rubber (Hevea brasiliensis): Vol. 2 - physiology & exploitation and crop protection & planting methods sessions, Ho Chi Minh City, China, 14-15 October 1997., 80-91; 16 ref

Fan Y, Petitt FL, 1994. Biological control of broad mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks), by Neoseiulus barkeri Hughes on pepper. Biological Control, 4(4):390-395

Fan YuQing, Petitt FL, 1998. Dispersal of the broad mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Acari: Tarsonemidae) on Bemisia argentifolii (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae). Experimental & Applied Acarology, 22(7):411-415; 7 ref

Flechtmann CHW, Guerrero B JM, Arroyave JA, Constantino C LM, 1990. A little known mode of dispersal of Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks). International Journal of Acarology, 16(3):181-182

Gerlach WWP, 1988. Plant diseases of Western Samoa. Apia, Western Samoa: Samoan German Crop Protection Project, 215 pp

Gerson U, 1992. Biology and control of the broad mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks) (Acari: Tarsonemidae). Experimental & Applied Acarology, 13(3):163-178

Glavendekic M, Mihajlovic L, Petanovic R, 2005. Introduction and spread of invasive mites and insects in Serbia and Montenegro. In: Plant protection and plant health in Europe: introduction and spread of invasive species, held at Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany, 9-11 June 2005 [ed. by Alford, D. V.\Backhaus, G. F.]. Alton, UK: British Crop Protection Council, 229-230. [Symposium Proceedings No.81.]

Gupta SK, 1985. Handbook on Mites of India. Calcutta, India: Zoological Survey of India

Hariyappa AS, Kulkarni KA, 1989. Interaction between the predatory mite, Amblyseius ovalis (Evans) and chilli mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks). Journal of Biological Control, 3(1):31-32

Heungens A, Degheele D, 1986. Control of the broad mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks), with acaricides on Psophocarpus tetragonolobus and Ricinus communis. Parasitica, 42(1):3-10

Ho CC, 1991. Life history of Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks) feeding on lemon, tea and pepper. Journal of Agricultural Research of China, 40(4):439-444

Kabir AKMF, 1979. Bioecology and behaviour of yellow jute mite. In: Rodriguez JG, ed. Recent advances in acarology. Volume I. Academic Press. New York USA, 519-523

Kalshoven LGE, 1950. The Pests of Cultivated Plants in Indonesia. Part 1. The Hague, Netherlands: W. van Hoeve

Kalshoven LGE, 1950. The Pests of Cultivated Plants in Indonesia. Part 1. The Hague, Netherlands: W. van Hoeve

Karmakar K, 1997. Notes on symptoms of Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks) (Acari: Tarsonemidae) infested host plants with histological deformities in chilli. Indian Agriculturist, 41(2):155-157; 10 ref

Karmakar K, Sarkar PK, Somchoudhury AK, Mukherjee AB, 1996. Effectiveness of some modern pesticides against different stages of yellow mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks) (Acari: Tarsonemidae) infesting chilli. Annals of Entomology, 14(2):47-54; 16 ref

labanowski GS, 1999. Occurrence and chemical control of introduced ornamental glasshouse pests in Poland. Bulletin OEPP, 29(1/2):73-76; 20 ref

Lawrence JL, Edwards CA, Schroeder M, Martin RD, McDonald FD, Gold-Smith J, 2000. An integrated approach for managing hot pepper pests in the Caribbean. The BCPC Conference: Pests and diseases, Volume 1. Proceedings of an international conference held at the Brighton Hilton Metropole Hotel, Brighton, UK, 13-16 November 2000, 239-244; 4 ref

Li LS, Li YR, Bu GS, 1985. The effect of temperature and humidity on the growth and development of the broad mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus. Acta Entomologica Sinica, 28(2):181-187

Lindquist EE, 1986. The world genera of Tarsonemidae (Acari: Heterostigmata): a morphological, phylogenetic, and systematic revision, with a reclassification of family-group taxa in the Heterostigmata. Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada, No. 136:517pp

Liu TS, Wang WJ, Wang YS, 1991. Survey on the hosts damaged by the broad mite and its control. Plant Protection Bulletin (Taipei), 33(4):344-353

Masoud Arbabi, Payman Namvar, Samed Karmi, Majied Farokhi, 2001. First damage record of Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks., 1904) (Acarina: Tarsonemidae) on potato cultivated in Jhiroft of Iran. Applied Entomology and Phytopathology, 69(1):41-42, Pe183-Pe184

Moutia LA, 1958. Contribution to the study of some phytophagous Acarina and their predators in Mauritius. Bulletin of Entomological Research, 49:59-75

Navasero MM, Corpuz-Raros LA, 2014. Survey of host plants and predatory mites associated with the broad mite, Polyphagotarsonemus lotus (Banks) (Acari: Tarsonemidae), and other acari in selected provinces in Luzon and Palawan Islands, Philippines. Philippine Entomologist, 28(1):1-31

Oliveira, C. M. de, Frizzas, M. R., Dianese, A. de C., 2011. Documentos - Embrapa Cerrados, Planaltina, Brazil: Embrapa Cerrados (No.306), 25 pp. http://www.cpac.embrapa.br

Palaniswamy S, Ragini JC, 2000. Influence of certain plant extracts on yellow mite Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks) on chillies. Insect Environment, 6(1):25-26

Palevsky E, Soroker V, Weintraub P, Mansour F, Abo-Moch F, Gerson U, 2001. How species-specific is the phoretic relationship between the broad mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Acari: Tarsonemidae), and its insect hosts?. Experimental & Applied Acarology, 25(3):217-224; 13 ref

Pena JE, Osborne L, 1996. Biological control of Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Acarina: Tarsonemidae) in greenhouses and field trials using introductions of predacious mites (Acarina: Phytoseiidae). Entomophaga, 41(2):279-285; 10 ref

Pena JE, Osborne LS, Duncan RE, 1996. Potential of fungi as biocontrol agents of Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Acari: Tarsonemidae). Entomophaga, 41(1):27-36; 26 ref

Ponte JJda, 1996. Efficiency of manipueira for the control of papaya white mite (preliminary note). Revista de Agricultura (Piracicaba), 71(2):259-261; 4 ref

Rabindra Prasad, Sanjay Kumar, Devendra Prasad, 2006. An account of mite pest fauna associated with common vegetables grown in Ranchi. Journal of Plant Protection and Environment, 3(1):149-151

Radonjic S, Hrncic S, 2010. The broad mite Polyphagotarsonemus latus Banks (Acari, Tarsonemidae) on citrus nursery trees and potential threat for ornamental plants in greenhouses in Montenegro. (Siroka grinja Polyphagotarsonemus latus Banks (Acari, Tarsonemidae) na sadnicama citrusa i potency alna opasnost za ukrasne biljke u zasticenom prostoru u Crnoj Gori.) Agroznanje - Agro-knowledge Journal, 11(4):5-11

Radonjic S, Hrncic S, 2011. An overview of invasive species on vegetables in greenhouses in southern part of Montenegro. IOBC/WPRS Bulletin [Proceedings of the IOBC/WPRS Working Group "Integrated Control in Protected crops, Temperate Climate", Sutton Scotney, UK, 18-22 September 2011.], 68:153-157. http://www.iobc-wprs.org/pub/bulletins/bulletin_2011_68_table_of_contents_abstracts.pdf

Rao PP, Ahmed K, 2001. Resistance in chilli cultivars to yellow mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus banks. Indian Journal of Agricultural Research, 35:95-99

Santos JCCdos, Scarpellini JR, Luswarghi HN, 1999. Chlorfenapyr and abamectin for the control of white mite Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks, 1904) (Acari - Tarsonemidae) and red spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch, 1836 on cotton. Anais II Congresso Brasileiro de Algoda^tilde~o: O algoda^tilde~o no se^acute~culo XX, perspectivar para o se^acute~culo XXI, Ribeira^tilde~o Preto, SP, Brasil, 5-10 Setembro 1999., 189-191; 8 ref

Scarpellini JR, 1999. Evaluation of acaricides against the white mite Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks, 1904) and influence on production of beans Phaseolus vulgaris L. Arquivos do Instituto Biolo^acute~gico (Sa^tilde~o Paulo), 66(1):43-46; 7 ref

Tonet RM, Leonel S, Negri JDde, 2000. Populational fluctuation of broad mite on sicilian lemon crop. Laranja, 21(1):39-48; 13 ref

Vincent CI, García ME, Johnson DT, Rom CR, 2010. Broad mite on primocane-fruiting blackberry in organic production in Arkansas. HortTechnology [Proceedings of the Workshop: Assessing the Effectiveness of Horticulture Courses and Curricula at the ASHS Annual Conference, St. Louis, Missouri, USA, 27 July 2009.], 20(4):718-723. http://horttech.ashspublications.org/

Wang DS, Kuang KY, Wu SC, Zhu ZY, Yuan YD, Chen YL, Yang XQ, 2000. The occurrence and control of dominant insect pests and diseases on sweet pepper in advanced greenhouses. Acta Agriculturae Shanghai, 16(Supplement):10-16

Wang YeJun, Zhang XueJun, Wang DengMing, 2009. Report of a new watermelon disease. China Cucurbits and Vegetables, 22(3):24-25

Waterhouse DF, 1993. The Major Arthropod Pests and Weeds of Agriculture in Southeast Asia. ACIAR Monograph No. 21. Canberra, Australia: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, 141 pp

Waterhouse DF, Norris KR, 1987. Biological control: Pacific prospects. viii + 454pp

Wen HC, Lee HS, 1984. The main insect pests on passion fruit in Taiwan. Journal of Agricultural Research of China, 33(1):81-87

Xie M, Cheng HK, Zhao JH, 1992. Use of liuyangmycin to control yellow mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Acari: Tarsonemidae) infesting green pepper. Chinese Journal of Biological Control, 8(1):29-32

Yang QH, Chen CX, 1982. A study on Polyphagotarsonemus latus Banks. Kunchong Zhishi, 19(2):24-26

Zhang ZP, Wu WG, Zhang WQ, 1990. Studies on the occurrence and control of injurious mites in mulberry plantations of Guangdong Province. Journal of South China Agricultural University, 11(4):17-24

Distribution Maps