New species records of Quadraseta Brennan, 1970 (Trombidiformes: Trombiculidae) in South America

The genus Quadraseta Brennan, 1970 (Trombiculidae) is distributed in South American, with a few records from Central America. The larvae (chiggers) are primarily mammal parasites, with one species from birds. Examination of unidentified material at US National Insect and Mite Collection revealed five species to this genus: Q. brasiliensis Goff & Gettinger, 1989, Q. falconensis Goff & Brennan, 1977, Q. flochi (Brennan & Jones, 1960), Q. mackenziei (Yunker & Brennan 1964), and Q. mirandae Goff & Brennan, 1977. This study resulted in new South American localities and host records for these species.

Mites Macronyssidae Parasites of Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Passeriformes: Passeridae) in the Southern of Brazil

The aim of this study was to report the species of haematophagous parasitic mites of Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) and analyze the infestation rates regarding to gender, body mass, and total length of the hosts. To do so, each of the 100 house sparrows captured in the urban area of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, was identified by gender, weighed, and measured. The mite collection was carried out after applying an ectoparasite-repelling talc in the body of the birds. Pellonyssus reedi was found in 29 house sparrows with mean intensity of 8.37 mites/host and Ornithonyssus bursa was found in two birds, only one male host showing co-infestation. The prevalence and mean intensity of P. reedi between male and female adults did not show significant difference, nor was there any correlation among species abundance, body mass, and total length of the house sparrows. We report the occurrence of P. reedi and O. bursa parasitizing P. domesticus in the southern of Brazil.

Catalog of the mite (Acari) type specimens deposited at the “Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Campus de São José do Rio Preto”, São Paulo, Brazil (DZSJRP)

A catalog of the type specimens of mites deposited at the Mite Collection of the Zoology and Botany Department of São Paulo State University (São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo state, Brazil) is presented. The collection of type specimens includes 120 species of 64 genera and 16 families, most of which from Brazil, but also from Angola, Australia, Costa Rica, Phillipines, South Africa, Sultanate of Oman and Thailand. For each species the original publication, provenance data, specimens conditions are provided.

Blattisocius (Acari, Blattisociidae) species from Brazil, with description of a new species, redescription of Blattisocius keegani and a key for the separation of the world species of the genus

Fifteen species have been placed in Blattisocius Keegan of which only three were previously reported from Brazil. Thesemites are found in several different habitats and often mentioned as predators of pests of stored food. In this work,specimens of this genus collected from commercial dog food in Brazil were determined as a new species which is heredescribed as Blattisocius everti n. sp. and the closely related Blattisocius keegani Fox, here redescribed. Subsequently,other specimens of Blattisocius deposited in the mite collection of “Departamento de Entomologia e Acarologia of EscolaSuperior de Agricultura “Luiz de Queiroz”, Universidade de São Paulo” were examined and identified. Finally, adichotomous key to separate the world species of Blattisocius was elaborated based on the examination of the specimens at hand and on the descriptions and redescriptions of other species.