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Several surveys were conducted between 2010 and 2012 in the Brazilian range Serra do Espinhao, a highly biodiverse region extending more than 1000 km in the states of Bahia and Minas Gerais. We report in this paper eight species of the genus Neoseiulus Hughes collected on natural, non-cultivated, vegetation. Two of these species are described, illustrated and proposed as new taxa, N. cipoensis sp. nov. and N. diamantinus sp. nov. New morphological information as well as host-plants and geographical distribution are provided for six additional species, N. benjamini (Schicha), N. californicus (McGregor), N. goiano Demite, Cavalcante Lofego, N. idaeus Denmark Muma, N. melinis Lofego Moraes, and N. tunus (De Leon).

The superfamily Eriophyoidea constitute a group of phytophagous mites of particular economic and evolutionary interest due to their intimate association with host plants and their agricultural importance as harmful or beneficial organisms. Studies on the Eriophyoidea fauna in Brazil started in the early 1900s with botanical works on cecidias and were continued with researchers looking for and reporting on eriophyid mites causing damage to agricultural crops. Therefore, in this annotated checklist, we compile information from just over a century on eriophyid mites reported or described from Brazil. Its purpose is to facilitate plant protection strategies and guide future work on this important group of phytophagous mites. In addition to taxonomy, we present information on host plants and general aspects of cecidia attributed to eriophyoid mites but without genus/species identification. Compilation was based on: i) literature, including papers, books, theses and congress/symposium publications; ii) specimens deposited in mite collections in Brazil. On each species we present: i) suprageneric/generic classification, synonyms and previous genus/era assignments, including references on original and/or additional descriptions; ii) type host plant and other host(s) plant(s) found in the country; iii) host relationships and remarks on symptoms; iv) localities of occurrences at States/Federal District and municipal levels; and v) host plant status in Brazil as well as biomes where they occur or are cultivated. A total of 234 valid eriophyoid mite species are recorded: 196 Eriophyidae, 20 Diptilomiopidae and 18 Phytoptidae, distributed in 92 genera. Host plants comprised 233 species, belonging to 141 genera and 56 plant families. Four new reports of eriophyoid mites in Brazil are presented based on specimens deposited in reference collections. A new combination is presented for Propeaciota secundum (Flechtmann, Amrine Stasny) in the genus Khanthongella. In addition, data on observations and descriptions of 67 cecidias attributed to eriophyoid mites in five states and on 21 plant families are presented. Geographically, the distribution of species reports of eriophyoids around Brazil is highly uneven, with more than 64% of species (151 spp.) in the Southeast region, which surely reflects a lack of research elsewhere. Regarding host plant specificity, 77.7% are reported on only one host species, 88.9% on one host genus and 98.3% on one host family. Regarding host status 64.1% of species are exclusively associated with native host plants, 27% with naturalized or exotic cultivated host plants, and 6.4% from both native and naturalized or exotic host plants.

Two new eriophyoid mite species are described from the cocoa tree, Theobroma cacao L. (Malvaceae) - the Diptilomiopidae Davisella trevisani n. sp. Rodrigues, Navia & Oliveira, from Brazil; and the Eriophyidae Tetra theobromae n. sp. Rodrigues, Navia & Oliveira, from Costa Rica. The new Davisella species presents an enlarged subcylindrical tubercle bearing pedipalp genual seta d, a novel structure for eriophyoid mites; its functional morphology was discussed. The new Tetra species is the third in this genus described from plants of the Malvaceae. A closer look at Shevtchenkella biseta (Nalepa), described from the Malvaceae Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L., showed its taxonomic assignment to the Phytoptidae, Sierraphytoptinae and raised a hypothesis on its synonymy.

A new eriophyid genus and species, tentatively placed in the Tegonotini, namely Eriomacrotergum flechtmanni n. gen. n. sp., is described from the Amazonian fruit tree cupuaçu Theobroma grandiflorum (Willd. Ex Spreng.) K. Schum. (Malvaceae), collected in northern Brazil. The new taxon presents a peculiar morphology in having a large opisthosomal plate and a very reduced prodorsal shield, with ocellar-like structures and scapular setae displaced laterally. Discussion on the most remarkable taxonomic traits is presented as well as similarities of the new genus with other Eriophyidae genera.

Predatory phytoseiid mites have been intensively studied and surveyed in the last decades because of their economic importance as biocontrol agents of agricultural pests. However, many regions of the world remain unexplored and the diversity of the family worldwide is still fragmentary. Up to date no phytoseiid species have been collected in the southernmost part of the Earth down to latitude 45º S. In this study Phytoseiidae were sampled from native vegetation in southern Argentina and Chile in the regions of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego Island. Thirteen species were collected, five of which were previously described and eight, Chileseius australis n. sp., Neoseiulus mapuche n. sp., Typhlodromips valdivianus n. sp., T. fissuratus n. sp., Amblyseius grandiporus n. sp., A. caliginosus n. sp., Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) anomalos n. sp. and Metaseiulus parabrevicollis n. sp. are proposed as new to science and are described and diagnosed.

Due to the higher resolution, confocal microscopy (CLSM) can be applied to refine the origin of tiny structures of the autofluorescent exoskeletons of microarthropods (mites in particular) which are hard to visualize using traditional differential interference contract light microscopy (DIC LM) and phase contrast light microscopy (PC LM). Three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions of the prodorsal shield topography of eriophyoid mites using Neoprothrix hibiscus Reis and Navia as a model, suggest that the structures originally treated as paired setae vi are two internal rod-like apodemes. Based on this, the genus Neoprothrix is excluded from the subfamily Prothricinae Amrine and transferred to the subfamily Sierraphytoptinae Keifer. Observations on partially cleared specimens of N. hibiscus showed that remnants of the central nervous system, paired glands and developing oocytes can be visualized using DIC LM and CLSM methods. New high quality microscope images are provided of recently described "flower-shaped" structures and two main components of yolk inclusions of the mature eggs inside the oviduct.