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Local dispersion and damage of Corymbia citriodora subsp. variegata (Myrtaceae) regrowth by eriophyid mites (Acari: Eriophyoidea)
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Local dispersion and damage of Corymbia citriodora subsp. variegata (Myrtaceae) regrowth by eriophyid mites (Acari: Eriophyoidea)

Helen F Nahrung and R Waugh
Systematic and Applied Acarology, Vol.14, pp.19-29
2009
DOI: https://doi.org/10.11158/saa.14.1.3
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https://doi.org/10.11158/saa.14.1.3View
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Abstract

Evolutionary Biology eucalypt forestry pests spotted gum Australia rhombacus acalox ptychocarpi
Eriophyid mites (Acari: Eriophyoidea: Eriophyidae: Rhombacus sp. and Acalox ptychocarpi Keifer) are recently-emerged pests of commercial eucalypt plantations in subtropical Australia. They cause severe blistering, necrosis and leaf loss to Corymbia citriodora subsp. variegata (F. Muell.) K.D. Hill & L.A.S. Johnson, one of the region's most important hardwood plantation species. In this study we examine the progression, incidence and severity of these damage symptoms. We also measure within-branch colonisation by mites to identify dispersive stages, and estimate the relative abundance of the two co-occurring species. Rhombacus sp., an undescribed species, was numerically dominant, accounting for over 90 % of all adult mites. Adults were the dispersive stage, moving mostly within branches, but 12 % of recruitment onto new leaves occurred on previously uninfested branches. Damage incidence and severity were correlated, while older leaves had more damage than younger leaves. "Patch-type" damage was less frequent but was associated with higher mite numbers and damage scores than "spot-type" damage, while leaf discoloration symptoms related mostly to leaf age.

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