This article deals with the results of study of species content and basic peculiarities of beaked mites-Phytoseiidae in plant associations of one of the regional centers of Ukraine. The species composition and distribution of mites-Phytoseiidae (Parasitiformes, Phytoseiidae) in plantations of Brovary town of Kyiv region were determined. Fourteen species of 8 genera of phytoseiid mites were found. Index of their existing and relative biotope connection of each registered species to vegetation types and plant species were computed. The study was conducted according to the results of material treatment on the territory of the mentioned city from 25 species of plants (16 species of hardy-shrub and 9 of herbaceous vegetations). The studies of distribution of plant-living mites-Phytoseiidae were conducted separately for hardy-shrub and herbaceous plants). The collection of faunistic material was executed during the vegetation of periods of 2011 and 2013. Within the city the collection of the material was conducted with hardy-shrub plants and herbaceous type of vegetation along the streets, in parks and squares of Brovary city of Kyiv region, district center, one of the satellite-cities of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. The study of species complexes characteristics of mites was conducted with usage of data calculated on the basis of frequency index (Is), degree of relative habitat confinedness (F) (Pesenko, 1982) and domination index Paliy-Kovnatski (Di) (Shitikov, 2003). Only on one species of plant (F=1) 6 species of mites-Phytoseiidae were found – T.сotoneastri on blue spruce, T. laurae – on common spruce, T. aceri – on ash-leaved maple, P. incognitus – on dog-rose, P. soleiger – on mulberry-tree, A. caudiglans – on sea-buckthorn. These species can be related to stenoecic. The mentioned species are stenotopic only in relation to the sample of plants from the plant associations of Brovary, as in other regions these species of mites can populate the other species of plants. The rest 8 species, being registered on two or more types of plants, are related to euryoecic. Among them there is a group of 6 species with “positive tendencies to population of plants”, owning the indicators of habitat confinedness 0<F<1: A. andersoni (0,92–0,96), A. rademacheri (0,85–0,96), N. herbarius (0,92–0,96), T. tiliarum (0,66–0,77), A. pirianykae (0,73–0,99), A. clavata (0,82–0,98). The rest species, E. finlandicus и K. aberrans, have the expanded range of indicators in relation to habitat confinedness (-0,71<F<0,55 и -0,16<F<0,88), that specifies on their ability to populate the big quality of species. E. finlandicus has the negative indicator of relative habitat confinedness in relation to the plants of herbaceous morphotype that serves confirmation of the ecological peculiarity of the species detected earlier. The data of relative habitat confinedness of mites to certain species of plants shows availability of stenoecic (T.сotoneastri, T. laurae, T. aceri, P. incognitus, P. soleiger, A. caudiglans) and euryoecic species (A. andersoni, A. rademacheri, N. herbarius, E. finlandicus, K. aberrans, T. tiliarum, A. pirianykae, A. clavata).
Evaluation of astigmatid mites as factitious food for rearing four predaceous phytoseiid mites (Acari: Astigmatina; Phytoseiidae)