Journal article
The distribution, abundance and life cycle of the pest mites Balaustium medicagoense (Prostigmata: Erythraeidae) and Bryobia spp. (Prostigmata: Tetranychidae) in Australia
AL Arthur, AR Weeks, MP Hill, AA Hoffmann
Australian Journal of Entomology | Published : 2011
Abstract
Balaustium medicagoense and Bryobia spp. have recently been identified by the Australian grains industry as emerging pests of winter grain crops and pastures. While reports of damage by these mites appear to have increased in the last decade, limited research has been conducted on their biology and ecology. Here the distribution and seasonal abundance patterns of Bryobia spp. and Ba. medicagoense in southern Australia are investigated. Bryobia spp. had a more widespread distribution than Ba. medicagoense. An Ecological Niche Model for the distribution of Ba. medicagoense constructed using MAXENT predicted the distribution of this species well, and identified associated climatic factors inclu..
View full abstractGrants
Awarded by Grains Research and Development Corporation
Funding Acknowledgements
We thank John Roberts, Stewart Pearson and Stuart McColl for helping with distribution and seasonal abundance collections. We also thank the farmers who allowed us the use of their paddocks for the seasonal abundance sampling. We thank all the agronomists, farmers, researchers who took the time to collect and sent in samples for the pest status survey. This study was supported by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (grant number 83991).