Some Mites of the Genus Proctolaelaps Berlese (Acarina: Blattisociidae) Associated with Forest Insect Pests

Six species of Proctolaelaps, found associated with insect pests of pine forests in the southeastern United States, are described and illustrated. These are: P. bickleyi (Bram), P. fiseri Samšinák, P. hystrix (Vitzthum), and three new species, P. dendroctoni, P. dioryctriae, and P. hystricoides. Newly recorded for North America are P. fiseri, P. hystrix, and P. ulmi Hirschmann; distributions for the last two species include British Columbia. Garmania striata Westerboer is synonymized under P. bickleyi; the problem of the lewisi species complex, which includes P. bickleyi, P. lewisi (Garman and McGregor), and P. utahensis (Chant), is noted.Although the food habits of these and related mites are mostly unstudied, tentative observations indicate that some species are commensals and others are predators of their insect associates. Investigation of such mites and their relationships with forest pests is urged.