New records of soil mites (Acari) from citrus orchards of Tunisia

Abstract

An inventory of soil mites from citrus orchards was carried out in four localities situated in the regions of Mornag and Bizerte, northern Tunisia. The soil sampling was performed monthly under the canopy throughout the two years of the study (2016 and 2017). A total of 31 species of mites belonging to 20 families were identified. The acari fauna was predominantly composed of Oribatida followed by Mesostigmata mites. The most frequent and abundant Oribatida families were Oribatulidae and Phenopelopidae, while Parasitidae, Laelapidae and Pachylaelapidae were the predominant families of Mesostigmata.