Euseius vivax Chant & Baker

Euseius vivax (Chant & Baker)

(Figs 24–28)

Amblyseius vivax Chant & Baker, 1965: 23.

Euseius vivax.—McMurtry et al., 1985: 113; Moraes et al., 2004: 69, Demite et al., 2015.

Specimens examined. 20 specimens from the type locality: Estación Experimental Agrícola Fabio Baudrit Moreno, Universidad de Costa Rica on Ricinus communis in November, 2012.

The characteristics of the females collected in this study are similar to those observed in the holotype, except for their longer Z5 and the shorter s4. A comparison of the characteristics of the holotypes of this species and of E. fructicolus, as well as of specimens collected in this study in the respective type localities, led to a different conclusion from that of Denmark et al. (1999); thus, E. fructicolus and E. vivax should not be considered synonyms. The main differences between them seem to refer to the pattern of ornamentation of the dorsal shield (smooth in E. fructicolus and lightly reticulated in the opisthonotal region in E. vivax) and the shape of the tips of leg IV macrosetae (blunt in E. fructicolus and sharp in E. vivax). In the original description of E. vivax, the authors mentioned that while the holotype (from Costa Rica) had sharply pointed macrosetae, most specimens from Nicaragua had either swollen tips or were intermediate. All 25 specimens collected in this study in Costa Rica as well as all specimens of a colony maintained in our laboratory had the sharply pointed leg IV macrosetae. Apparently, the specimens with swollen tipped macrosetae reported by Chant & Baker (1965) referred to another species.