TY  - JOUR
JF  - Acarologia
T1  - Phytoseiidae (Acari: Mesostigmata: Gamasina) associated with guarana cultivation (Paullinia cupana Kunth, Sapindaceae) in the Central Amazon Region
VL  - 66
IS  - 1
SP  - 35
EP  - 49
PY  - 2026
SN  - 0044-586X
SN  - 2107-7207
PB  - Les Amis d'Acarologia
AU  - Dahmer, Priscila C.
AU  - Cavalcante, Ana Cristina C.
AU  - Demite, Peterson R.
UR  - https://doi.org/10.24349/ab1s-yntz
DO  - 10.24349/ab1s-yntz
DA  - 2026-01-23
ET  - 2026-01-23
KW  - Amazon agroecosystems
KW  - biodiversity
KW  - ecosystem service
KW  - sustainable pest management
AB  - This study provides the first comprehensive survey of Phytoseiidae mites associated with guarana (Paullinia cupana Kunth, Sapindaceae) cultivation in the Central Amazon region, Brazil. Phytoseiidae is a key family of predatory mites for the biological control of pest mites and small insects in agroecosystems. Sampling was conducted between 2019 and 2021 in 20 areas across six municipalities, predominantly managed under agroecological or low-input systems and surrounded by continuous native forest. A total of 23 phytoseiid species belonging to 11 genera were recorded. The most abundant species was Typhlodromips angustus Guanilo & Moraes, representing 42.2% of all collected specimens, followed by Proprioseiopsis neotropicus (Ehara), Iphiseiodes zuluagai Denmark & Muma and Amblydromalus itacoatiarensis Demite, Cavalcante & Lofego. The species found in the greatest number of sites were: P. neotropicus, T. angustus, A. itacoatiarensis, and Amblyseius aerialis (Muma). The community was characterized by both these widely distributed generalist predators and species with restricted occurrence, including four probably new species, highlighting the unique and understudied nature of the local acarofauna. These findings demonstrate that guarana cultivation systems, when embedded in conserved Amazonian landscapes, act as reservoirs of predatory mites, reinforcing their role in biodiversity conservation and in supporting biological control as an essential ecosystem service within Amazonian agroecosystems.
ER -