Manuscript Number : IJSRST184113

Seasonal influence on the population density of Stylophoronychus vannus (Rimando, 1968) (Acari: Tetranychidae) infesting bamboos in Kerala

Authors(2) :-C P Vibija, N Ramani

Stylophoronychus vannus (Rimando, 1968), is a tetranychid mite dwelling mainly on bamboo plants. The impact of climatic factors on the population density of this mite on a selected species of bamboo, (Bambusa vulgaris var. striata) growing in the Nilambur region of the Malappuram district was studied during the period of November, 2012 to October, 2013. Results of the study indicated a general preference of the mite to inhabit on the adaxial surface of bamboo leaves and its feeding activity induced visible symptoms like the development of chlorotic spots and patches on the leaf surface. As observed during the study, temperature was found to exert an increase in the population density, with an average of 30 mites per leaf, when the temperature was maximum. The mite population showed a decreasing trend with the onset of monsoon season, and then showed a slow recovery afterwards. The paper also discusses the effect of relative humidity and rainfall on the population density of S. vannus. Statistical analysis of the data enabled to record a significant positive correlation between temperature and mite population (r = 0.748) whereas relative humidity and rainfall showed a negative correlation (r = -0.09 and r = -0.39 respectively).

Authors and Affiliations

C P Vibija
Research Scholar, Division of Acarology, Department of Zoology, University of Calicut, Kerala, India
N Ramani
Professor, Division of Acarology, Department of Zoology, University of Calicut, Kerala, India

Stylophoronychus, Temperature, Rainfall, Relative Humidity, Population

  1. Boudreaux, H.B. 1958. The effect of relative humidity on egg-laying, hatching and survival in various spider mites. Journal of? Insect. Physiology, 2: 65-72.
  2. Chinniah, C., Balaji, S., Kanimozhi Maragatham, K. and Muthiah, C., 2007. Influence of weather parameters on the population dynamics of red spider mite Tetranychus urticae on okra Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench. J .Acarol., 16: 45-46.
  3. Hanna, R., Onzo, A., Lingeman, R., Sabelis, M.W., and Yaninek, J.S. 2005. Seasonal cycles and persistence of an acarine predator-prey system on cassava in Africa. Population Ecology. 47:107-117.
  4. Kiss, E., Szenasi, A., Nemenyi, A. and Kontschan, J. 2017. Can we use the predatory mites against the invasive bamboo pest spider mites? Acta Phytopathologica et Entomologica Hungarica, 52(1): 91-96.
  5. Kontsch?n, J. and Nemenyi, A. 2013. An East-Asian Tetranychid bamboo inhabiting mite, Stigmaeopsis nanjingensis (Ma and Yuan, 1980) first occurrence in Hungary (Acari: Tetranychidae). N?venyvedelem 49, 473-477. (in Hung.)
  6. Meyer, M. K. P. Smith. 1987. African Tetranychidae (Acari: Prostigmata) with reference to the world genera. Rep. South Africa, Dept. Agriculture and Water Supply. Entomol. Mere. 69:1 - 175.
  7. Muthuraj, B. and Jesudasan, R.W.A. 2011. Impact of climatic factors on leaf roll- inducing mite, Floracarus perrepae (Acari : Eriophyidae) feeding on the old world climbing fern, Lygodium microphyllum (Pteridophyta : Lygodiaceae). International Journal of Acarology. 37 (4): 325-330.
  8. Onzo, A., Hanna, R., Sabelis, M.W., and Yaninek, J.S. 2005. Temporal and spatial dynamics of an exotic predatory mite and its herbivorous mite prey on cassava in Benin, West Africa. Environmental Entomology. 34:866-874.
  9. Rimando, L. 1968. The genus Aponychus (Tetranychidae, Acarina). Philippine Entomologist 1: 6-10.
  10. Ripka, G. 2011. A new genus, Adventacarus and a new Abacarus species from Hungary (Acari: Prostigmata: Eriophyoidea). Acta Phytopathol. et Entomol. Hung. 46, 139-149.
  11. Ripka, G., Kontsch?n, J. and Nemenyi, A. 2015. A new genus and species of eriophyoid mites (Acari: Eriophyoidea: Diptilomiopidae) on Phyllostachys iridescens (Poaceae) from Hungary. Acta Zool. Acad. Sci. Hung. 61, 47-56.
  12. Silva, C. A. D. da., Cordao-Sobrinho, F. P. and da Silva, A. D., 1999. Biology and thermal requirements of red spider mite, Tetranychus ludeni Zacher (Acari; Tetranychidae) on cotton. Anias II. Congresso. Brasileiro de Algodao. O. algodao no seculo XX, prespectivas. Para. O. seculo., 21: 329-331.
  13. Smiley, R.L. and Baker, E.W. 1995. A report on some tetranychid mites (Acari: Prostigmata) from Yemen. International Journal of Acarology, 21: 135- 164.
  14. Sobha, T. R., Ummukulsoom, O.P. and Shabana, T.P. 2017. Impact of climatic factors on the population density of vegetable spider mite, Tetranychus neocaledonicus (Acari: Tetranychidae) infesting cassava. Int. J. Adv. Res. 5(7): 2174-2178.
  15. Stavrinides, M.C., Daane, K.M., Lampinen, B.D. and Mills, N.J. 2010. Plant Water Stress, Leaf Temperature, and Spider Mite (Acari: Tetranychidae) Outbreaks in California Vineyards. Environmental Entomology. 39 (4): 1232-1241.
  16. Teodoro, A. V., Klein, A. M., and Tscharntke, T. 2008. Environmentally mediated coffee pest densities in relation to agroforestry management, using hierarchical partitioning analyses. Agriculture Ecosystems and Environment, 125: 120-126.
  17. Yaninek, J.S., Herren, H.R., and Gutierrez, A.P. 1989. Dynamics of Mononychellus tanajoa (Acari: Tetranychidae) in Africa: seasonal factors affecting phenology and abundance. Environmental Entomology.18:625-632.
  18. Zhang, Y.-X., Liu, Q. -Y., Lin, J.- Z., Song, M.- G., Cai, Q.-J. and He, X.-Y. (1998b). Influence on the physiology and biochemistry of bamboo damage by the Schizotetranychus nanjingensis Ma et Yuan. Entomological Journal of East China, 7: 65-70.
  19. Zhang, Z.-Q., Zhang, Y.-X.? and Lin, J. Z.? 2000. Mites of Schizotetranychus (Acari: Tetranychidae) from moso bamboo in Fijian, China. Systematic and Applied Acarology. 4: 19-35.

Publication Details

Published in : Volume 4 | Issue 2 | January-February 2018
Date of Publication : 2018-02-28
License:  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Page(s) : 95-99
Manuscript Number : IJSRST184113
Publisher : Technoscience Academy

Print ISSN : 2395-6011, Online ISSN : 2395-602X

Cite This Article :

C P Vibija, N Ramani, " Seasonal influence on the population density of Stylophoronychus vannus (Rimando, 1968) (Acari: Tetranychidae) infesting bamboos in Kerala, International Journal of Scientific Research in Science and Technology(IJSRST), Print ISSN : 2395-6011, Online ISSN : 2395-602X, Volume 4, Issue 2, pp.95-99, January-February-2018. Available at doi : 10.32628/IJSRST184113
Journal URL : http://ijsrst.com/IJSRST184113

Article Preview

Get in Touch

Contact Us

IJSRST @ Copyright 2019. All Rights Reserved.