Determination of Tenuipalpidae (Acari: Prostigmata) species in parks and ornamental plants of Ankara, Turkey

Tenuipalpidae (Acari: Prostigmata) species on ornamental plants and shrubs of the parks in Ankara, Turkey were determined during 2005 and 2006. The surveys were done in the growing seasons (april to october) at weekly. In total 1130 samples were collected, 124 plant species were examined of which 23 were infected by these mite groups in Ankara. As a result, 11 species were identified in the family of Tenuipalpidae, of which five were the first records in Turkey: Aegyptobia nr. cupressus Baker and Tuttle, 1972; Aegyptobia aletes Pritchard & Baker, 1958; Aegyptobia salisicola Al-Gboory, 1987; Cenopalpus lanceolatisetae (Attiah, 1956) and Pentamerismus erythreus (Ewing, 1917). Cenopalpus pulcher (Canestrini & Fanzago, 1876) is the most common phytophagous species followed by Pentamerismus oregonensis McGregor, 1949 and Pentamerismus taxi (Haller, 1877), Cupressaceae is the most important and preferred host plants for the Tenuipalpidae. However, Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) bagdasarjani (Wainstein & Arutunjan, 1967); Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) tranquillus (Livshits & Kuznetzov, 1972); Cheyletogenes ornatus Canestrini & Fanzago, 1876; Zetzellia mali (Ewing, 1917) and Tydeus sp. were determined as predatory mites associated with tenuipalpid mites in Ankara.