Tetranychus ludeni Zacher, 1913 (Figs. 11-15)

Diagnosis:

Male: Spinneret twice as long as wide (5–6 x 2–3). Palp tarsus wider than length (3–4 x 5 6). Dorsal palp–femoral setae (d PFe) modified into ‘peg–like structure’ (10–11). Tarsus I bears 4 tactile setae and 2 solenidia proximal to the proximal duplex setae. Empodia of leg I uncinate, leg II–IV tri–digitate with 6 free proximoventral hairs. Empodia of leg I–IV with dorso–median spur. Aedeagus with small anterior knob forming a hook like structure, posterior projection rounded. Dorsal margin of the knob forming 45° angle with the shaft.

Female: Spinneret equal in length and width (5–6 x 5–6). Palp tarsus short and wide (7–8 x 9–10). Peritreme long, hook like (30–32) with three chambers. The dorsal region between setae e1 and f1 appears a ‘diamond like’ striation pattern. Tarsus I with two set of ‘duplex setae’ having a distance of 29–31 between the proximal and the distal setae. 4 setae proximal to proximal duplex setae on tarsus I. Empodia of each leg tri digitate with three pairs of proximoventral hairs. Empodia of leg I with minute dorso–median spurs, leg II–IV without of spurs. Striation pattern of pregenital region slightly broken medially.

Material Examined: 12 males (Acarol. lab/ BCKV/3122−3133 /25) and 12 females (Acarol. lab/ BCKV/3133−3144 /25), Tagetes patula L. from Guskara (23.4882° N, 87.7443° E), Purba Bardhaman, West Bengal, India.

Remarks: The specimens of Tetranychus ludeni were collected from French Marigold (Tagetes patula L.) from Guskara, Purba Bardhaman. Tetranychus ludeni was found to attack Tagetes erecta L. (Gutierrez, 1974), Tagetes minuta L. (Davis, 1968) but this is the first time this species was observed attacking Tagetes patula L. Mites were observed infesting not only the leaves but also the tender buds of host plants, leading to severe damage. Their feeding activity caused chlorosis, turning the leaves pale. This species is reported from 53 countries, in Afrotropical, Australasian, Nearctic, Neotropical, Oriental and Palearctic regions of the world (Migeon and Dorkeld, 2025).