Abstract
Studies on the damage, biology, natural enemies and management of the economically important eriophyid mites: persimmon bud mite, Aceria diospyri, ficus mottle mite, Aceria ficus, peach silver mite, Aculus fockeui, and pink citrus mite, Aculops pelekassi in Japan are reviewed. A. diospyri and A. pelekassi mainly cause damage to the fruits of host plants. The rust symptom on persimmon fruits by A. diospyri differs among varieties. A. ficus causes economic loss in fig with leaf mosaic, leaf malformation, fruit mosaic, and fruit drop. A. fockeui injures peach leaves, reduces the sugar content of the fruit,and the damaged trees have lower vigor due to post-harvest defoliation. These mites overwinter in buds of host plants as adults. Overwintered mites begin to reproduce on the leaves after late May or mid-April. Fruit infesting mites, A. diospyri and A. pelekassi, migrate to and infest fruits after June. Since the density of overwintered A. ficus is high in large dormant fig buds, cutting of the big buds is effective to reduce mite damage in the next season. Several acaricides, insecticides and fungicides are effective against the eriophyid mites. A. pelekassi populations with dithiocarbamate-fungicide resistance were confirmed in the early 1990's and outbreaks of the mite sometimes cause severe damage to citrus fruits. It was found that some phytoseiids, a tydeid and a stigmaeid feed on these eriophyids. Phytoseiidae mites play an important role in the control of A. diospyri, A. ficus and A. fockeui populations in low densities. A marked resurgence in A. fockeui populations occurs after synthetic pyrethroids are sprayed, because they have no effect on A. fockeui but are harmful to the predators, such as phytoseiid mites.
