Coleolaelaps Berlese, 1914: 141. Type species Laelaps (Iphis) agrestis Berlese, 1887, by original designation.

Diagnosis. Laelapidae in which the podonotal section of the dorsal shield is distinctly wider than the opisthonotal section, and the podonotal and opisthonotal sections are separated by lateral incisions at a level between setae j6 and J1. Podonotal shield with a maximum of 17 pairs of setae and opisthonotal section with a maximum of 11 pairs; dorsal idiosomal setae variable in length, marginal setae longest and often appearing wavy in slide-mounted specimens. Sternal shield usually reduced in size and longer than wide, its anterior margin often poorly defined; genital shield with one pair of setae, or genital setae inserted in soft skin adjacent to genital shield. Anal shield with post-anal seta usually distinctly longer than para-anal setae. Hypostome with six rows of minute teeth; hypostomal seta h3 not distinctly longer than other hypostomal setae. Legs III longer than legs I, legs IV longest; legs without blunt spurs or spines; greatly elongate macrosetae present on femur, genu and tarsus IV, but not on femur II and III.

Notes on the genus. The only species that causes difficulties with this genus diagnosis is Coleolaelaps abnormalis Costa & Hunter, 1971, which lacks incisions in the dorsal shield, and has leg III shorter than or equal to leg I. In other characters, C. abnormalis is clearly a species of Coleolaelaps. The most recent detailed revision of the genus Coleolaelaps was by Costa & Hunter (1971), who listed nine species. Since then new species have been described from Turkey, Kazakhstan, China, and Japan, to bring the total to 14 species (Karg, 1999). It is possible that some species described in other genera would be better placed in Coleolaelaps; for example Hypoaspis lepisternalis Ma, 2004 appears to be a species of Coleolaelaps. All known species are associated with Melolonthine beetles in the genera Anoxia and Polyphylla, and the genus therefore has a Holarctic distribution which follows that of the host beetles. Costa & Hunter (1971) described extensive intra-species variation in some species of Coleolaelaps, and that observation is confirmed by the species described here. The dorsal and sternal shields often have irregular and asymmetrical edges, and some setae may be found either on the edges of the shields or in the adjacent soft skin in different specimens, or on left and right sides of the same specimen.