This study investigated the effects of acaricides/pesticides against Brevipalpus phoenicis (Geijskes), which damages the passion fruit, and the effect of high temperature on its survival. Machine oil (97%) and polyglycerol esters of fatty acids are the effective acaricides/insecticides that are permitted to be used against B. phoenicis in the cultivation of the passion fruit in Japan. Milbemectin, a mixture of avermectin and etoxazole, pyridaben, and a mixture of cyenopyrafen and pyridaben, which are not permitted for use in the cultivation of the passion fruit in Japan, were also found to be highly effective against B. phoenicis.

Four families (1 fresh water and 3 tidal oribatid mite families), 8 genera and 19 species of aquatic oribatid mites were listed from Japan. These four families were Hydrozetidae inhabiting fresh water only, and Ameronothridae, Selenoribatidae and Fortuyniidae as tidal mites, and were not included in Ohkubo et al. (2015) as a checklist of soil-inhabiting oribatid mites of Japan. We determined that the original combination Rhizophobates shimojanai Karasawa & Aoki, 2005 was appropriate.

Akune-Oshima Island (32.025379°N, 130.166765°E) is located about 2

マダニはヒトの人獣共通感染症の一般的な媒介動物である．特に畜産分野では数十年にわたり化学的防除が行われてきたが，その結果，海外ではマダニが農薬に対する抵抗性の獲得が顕在化した．また，化学物質の使用による環境汚染や人体への影響から，生物的防除，免疫学的・遺伝学的手法，野生生物管理などの非農薬的防除が盛んになってきている．しかし，どの対策も結果が一様でなくまたコストも高く，納得のいく結果が得られていない．特に生物的防除の規模は時空間的に限られており，野生動物管理における適切な対象種の選定が困難であることが分かっている．個々の対策やその統合には，地域のマダニ個体群動態を把握し，マダニのマイクロハビタットや宿主能力を正確に把握することが極めて重要である．生物多様性はマダニ媒介性感染症のリスクを低減する機能を持つと考えられるが，そのメカニズムを完全に説明する仮説はまだ提唱されていない．野生動物におけるマダニと病原体の両方の発生を防止する生態系管理のあり方を明らかにするためには，さらなる研究が必要である．そのような対策は，生物多様性の保全に基づき，場合によってはゾーニングと組み合わせて行う必要がある．

microorganisms in Argas sp.collected in Niigata City and later listed as A. vespertilionis (Yamaguti et al., 1971).Yamaguti et al. (1971) suggested 岡山県におけるコウモリマルヒメダニ(マダニ亜目：ヒメダニ科)の初記録─ 24

The soil fauna found in the subterranean nests of forest mammals are expected to have a unique composition considering that the nests' biotic and abiotic conditions differ from the surrounding soil conditions.In this study, we report the first record of the soil fauna community assembled in abandoned nests of the Japanese wood mouse species-Apodemus spp.Research was conducted at the Takizawa Research Forest of Iwate University, Morioka, Iwate, Japan (39°47′N, 141°09′E, approximately 200 m a.s.l.).The research site comprised a 0.54-ha plot (90 m × 60 m) that was established in the secondary forest where Quercus serrata was the dominant tree species (Shimada et al., 2015).Two mouse species, the large (A.speciosus) and small Japanese wood mice (A.argenteus), inhabited the research site.The former was much more abundant in population density than the latter (220.4 and 9.3 individuals/ha for A. speciosus and A. argenteus, respectively, in June 2020; T. Shimada, unpublished data).Thus, the nests we found were assumed to have been used mainly by A. speciosus, although the possibility of having been used by A. argenteus cannot be completely excluded.In June 2020, we investigated the soil mesofauna community of the abandoned mouse nests and compared it with the fauna community in the surrounding soils, which were used as controls in this study.We collected five nests and prepared 12 replications from the surrounding soil using soil cores of 100 cc.Based on hair and feces samples found in the nests, we determined that the nests had been used by wood mice in the nearest reproductive season (from mid-April to early May) or that before the nearest (October in the last year).These nests consisted of leaf litter and acorns collected by mice and were usually found beneath the coarse roots of trees.The collected mouse nests were nearly completely hidden in the soil and were randomly located throughout the plot (each point was approximately 10-20 m apart), but the control samples were collected from systematically determined soil points that were approximately 10-40 m apart.Soil fauna from the mouse nests and soil cores were extracted using a Tullgren funnel at 35°C for 10 days and sorted at the order or suborder level using a stereomicroscope.In case of mites, all astigmatids collected from the mouse nests were identified to the species level using a phase contrast microscope (400×), whereas the other mites

Momonides landbergi Lundblad, 1971 is newly recorded from Iriomote Island, Okinawa, southern Japan. This is the first record of the subfamily Momonidinae from Japan. Characteristics of the present Japanese specimens accord well with those of the specimens from Indonesia originally described by Lundblad (1971), except for somewhat smaller number of genital acetabula of the Japanese specimens. The present record extends northward the worldwide distribution of M. landbergi to near the Palearctic region.

Ecological characteristics of the perilla rust mite, Shevtchenkella sp., that causes damage to Perilla frutescens (Lamiaceae) were studied under a range of temperatures. The mean generation times were 27.3, 15.4, 11.3, 8.8, and 7.8 days at 18, 21, 24, 27, and 30°C, respectively. The estimated lower thermal threshold was 12.8°C, and the thermal constant for egg-to-egg development was 133.5 degree-days. The intrinsic rate of natural increase (rm) was 0.1001, 0.1504, 0.2020, and 0.2146 at 21, 24, 27, and 30°C, respectively. The rm value was not calculated at 18°C as more than 70% of the mites failed to reach adulthood, and of those that did, only 2.6% laid eggs. Zero fecundity was estimated at 12.8°C based on regression analysis performed using the average number of eggs per female per day. Most females reared with a 13 h photoperiod at 21°Cin the laboratory were in diapause. The population of the perilla rust mite used in these tests in the laboratory was collected from Kochi Prefecture, Japan.

For the quantification of shiso rust mite (Shevtchenkella sp.) occurrence, which is difficult to be observed because of their tiny body size, a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay was tested. Shiso rust mites on leaves were collected by rinses with ethanol. DNA was extracted from the washing solution and the LAMP assay was carried out using a specific primer set. This method enabled shiso rust mites detection from approximately 18% of the perilla mosaic diseased 116 strain. In addition, shiso rust mites in the air were collected using a wet trap. DNA was extracted from the trapping liquid and the LAMP reaction performed. The time during which turbidity increased was measured using a real-time turbidimeter, and it enabled to detect the peak of the occurrence of mites. Determination of the number of shiso rust mites scattered in the air revealed that they rapidly increase from July to September.

Several of the recent higher classification systems of “Acari” were reviewed. The taxon group as “Acari” finally disappeared in recent systems. A correspondence table between the recent higher systems reached a consensus based on phylogenetic papers and the old system with 7 suborders (general in Japanese text books) were provided with some Japanese name of taxon groups appropriately modified in the present paper. Japanese name of Poecilophysidea (Acariformes + Solifugae) was also proposed.

Ticks are obligate blood feeders that parasitize a variety of vertebrates and can be serious pests for these animals. Due to public concerns about the risk of chemical controls, there is a high demand for biological control agents to reduce tick populations and the spread of tick-borne diseases. In this study, we observed tick predation by the pseudoscorpion Megachernes ryugadensis in a laboratory for the first time. Adult and tritonymphal M. ryugadensis were collected in the field during phoresis on Japanese wood mice and transferred to a Petri dish. These pseudoscorpions preyed on larval Haemaphysalis ticks and nymphal and adult Haemaphysalis megaspinosa. Most pseudoscorpions fed on two to three larval ticks on the first day following tick transfer. There were no significant differences between male and female pseudoscorpions in the numbers of larval ticks consumed or the numbers of days required to consume all ticks. Although there was no significant difference between the numbers of days to consume nymphal and adult male ticks, male pseudoscorpions consumed adult female ticks significantly faster than did female pseudoscorpions. Although the sample sizes in this study were small, the tritonymphal pseudoscorpion displayed similar trends in the predation of larval and nymphal ticks. Further study is required to obtain detailed information on the life history traits of the tick and pseudoscorpion and the impacts of the tick on small rodents and their nest fauna to determine the role of M. ryugadensis as a natural enemy of ticks.

Bees and wasps are associated with a wide variety of mites (OConnor and Klompen, 1999;Klimov et al., 2007).Some of them have evolved specialized acarinaria (mite chambers) on their body and harbor more or less specific groups of mites in them.Female carpenter bees of the genus Xylocopa are well known for having a metasomal acarinarium of various levels of specialization (Hurd and Moure, 1963;Eardley, 1983;Klimov and OConnor, 2008).In particular, female carpenter bees of the subgenera Koptortosoma and Mesotrichia have a distinct acarinarium on the first metasomal tergite (T1), which is the "largest known" (Klimov et al., 2007) acarinarium in insects.The metasomal acarinarium is a spacious chamber occupying a large portion in the first metasomal segment and is connected to the bee's exterior through a small aperture on its anterior surface, and it harbors species-specific mites of the genus Dinogamasus (Klimov et al., 2007).Although the female metasomal acarinarium of Koptortosoma and Mesotrichia has long been known, its detailed structures have been described in only a few species including Xylocopa (Mesotrichia) caffra L. (Skaife, 1952) and Xylocopa (Mesotrichia) flavorufa (DeGeer) (Madel, 1975) from Africa.Detailed information regarding the morphology of the acarinaria in as many species as possible is indispensable to understand the evolution of the structure and the interrelationship between bees and mites.The carpenter bee Xylocopa (Koptortosoma) ruficeps Friese, distributed in the Oriental region (Hurd and Moure, 1963), has also been reported to possess a distinct metasomal acarinarium (Okabe and Makino, 2005).However, its structure has not been examined in detail.In addition to 台湾産クマバチ Xylocopa (Koptortosoma) ruficeps におけるアカリナリウムと随伴ダニ 牧野俊一 1＊ ・岡部貴美子 1 ・神崎菜摘 2 ( 1 森林総合研究所生物多様性研究拠点， 2 森林総合研究所関西支 所)

For this paper, I investigated whole past records of skin mites and fur mites (Acariformes: Sarcoptoidea) in Japan. As a result, I discovered a total 17 records related to 11 species belonging to Myocoptidae, Listrophoridae, Chirodiscidae, and Atopomelidae.

The parasitic nature of water mites on aquatic heteropterans was investigated at a paddy field in Sagamihara City in August 2016. During the survey, three heteropteran species, Appasus japonicus, Aquarius paludum, and Ranatra chinensis, were collected. Among these species, water mites were found only on A. japonicus. The water mites were all in a post-larval resting stage and identified as the Hydrachna sp. The mite prevalence or intensity has no relation to the developmental stage or sex of A. japonicus. However, the host individuals infested with Hydrachna sp. were significantly larger than non-infested ones, and the mite intensity on each A. japonicus was apt to correlate with the host body size. Consequently, the Hydrachna sp. is opportunistically parasitic on larger A. japonicus individuals, regardless of the developmental stage or sex of the host. Though the Hydrachna sp. did not exhibit a preference for particular body parts of the juvenile A. japonicus, the mites preferred the forewing to the mesothorax, metathorax, foreleg, midleg, and hindleg of the adult one. The mites probably select large, inactive body parts rather than small, active parts for attachment on the adult host.

We established a simple method to examine the insecticidal activities of agrochemicals against the larvae of Tyrophagus similis so that we could test five insect growth regulators (IGRs). Flufenoxuron emulsifiable concentrate (E.C.), registered for this species on spinach, and etoxazole wettable powder (W.P.) led to high mortality rates with our method. On the other hand, the activities of chlorfluazuron E. C., teflubenzuron E. C., and hexythiazox W. P. led to low mortality rates. IGR is one of the effective options to control T. similis.