1. Wolbachia and Other Inherited Microorganisms in spider mites

Our lab has studied for a couple of years the intracellular bacteria Wolbachia and CFB. They have evolved as reproductive parasites of insects and mites. Current research focuses on the distribution and effect of Wolbachia and CFB in spider mites in China . Both Wolbachia and CFB cause a number of interesting effects upon their hosts, including reproductive incompatibility between host strains or species (called cytoplasmic incompatibility or CI), parthenogenesis, male-killing and feminization of genetic males. These bacteria are of particular interest because they may cause rapid speciation in their hosts, and they are also of potential value in biological control of pest insects.

Recent Publications on the subject

(1) Xie, L., Miao, H. and Hong, X.-Y. 2006. The two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch and the carmine spider mite Tetranychus cinnbarinus (Boisduval) in China mixed in their Wolbachia phylogenetic tree. Zootaxa, 1165, 33-46.

(2) Miao, H., Hong, X.-Y., Xie, L., Xue, X.-F. and Zhang, C.-L. 2006. Sequencing and sequence analysis of the wsp gene of Wolbachia in Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae). Acta Entomologica Sinica, 49(1): 146-153.

(3) Miao, H., Hong, X.-Y., Xie, L. and Xue, X.-F. 2004. Sequencing and sequence analysis of the wsp gene of Wolbachia in Tetranychus cinnabarinus (Boisduval) (Acari: Tetranychidae). Acta Entomologica Sinica, 47(6): 738-743.

(4) Liu, Y, Miao, H. and Hong, X.-Y. 2006. Distribution of the endosymbiotic bacterium Cardinium in Chinese populations of the carmine spider mite Tetranychus cinnabarinus (Acari: Tetranychidae). Journal of Applied Entomology, 130(9-10): 523-529.

2. Population Genetic Structure of Spider Mite Species

Both the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch and the carmine spider mite Tetranychus cinnabarinus (Boisduval) are distributed widely in China . The former is a world-wide pest damaging many crops and fruit trees. Its invasion into China was first reported in 1983 in Beijing and it has since spread into many regions in northern and northeastern China . It has become the most important pest in apple orchards in Shandong , Liaoning and Shaanxi Provinces . The carmine spider mite is the most serious mite pest in China damaging cotton, bean, white mulberry, cassava, melons, and greenhouse crops, causing great loss to agriculture.

It is very difficult to differentiate between T. urticae and T. cinnabarinus using morphological characters because both species are polymorphic and there is significant intraspecific variation among populations on different host plants and from different geographic locations. Biochemical and molecular studies demonstrate that the two species have homogeneity or a great degree of similarity. These suggest that populations from different localities might have diverged differently. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the relationship between T. urticae and T. cinnabarinus by using Chinese populations, which have never been studied from the point view of molecular biology.

Our lab is currently using several molecular markers (ITS2, COI) to study the genetic structure of these two spider mites. Hybrid research is also undertaken to check the relationship between two species. This work will set the stage for an extensive analysis of the genetic and phenotypic changes associated with speciation in a group of closely related species.

Recent Publications on the subject

(1) Xie, L., Hong, X.Y. and Xue, X.-F. 2006. Population genetic structure of the two-spotted spider mite (Acari: Tetranychidae) from China . Annals of Entomological Society of America, 99(5): 959-965.

(2) Xie, L., Miao, H. and Hong, X.-Y. 2006. The two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch and the carmine spider mite Tetranychus cinnbarinus (Boisduval) in China mixed in their Wolbachia phylogenetic tree. Zootaxa, 1165, 33-46.

3. Systematics of the Eriophyoid Mite Species

The eriophyoid mites are very tiny, averaging about 200 μ m. They cannot be seen by the unaided eye, and for that reason, their structure, habits and economic importance have been obscure. The Eriophyoidea includes three families: Phytoptidae, Eriophyidae and Diptilomiopidae. Currently, more than 5000 species have been reported in the world and about 500 species are known to occur in China .

The eriophyoid mites cause direct damage including galls, erineum, blisters, brooming, roll, deformation and discoloration to host plants. They also cause indirect damage by spreading virus. The economic importance of the Eriophyoidea is second only to spider mites of the superfamily Tetranychoidea in the Acari.

The systematics of the Eriophyoidea at our lab is leading China in identifying and describing new species, analyzing generic relationship in the superfamily, and ecology of the eriophyoid mites.

Recent publications on the subject

(1) Song Zi-Wei, Xue Xiao-Feng, Hong Xiao-Yue. 2008. One new genus and four new species of Phyllocoptinae (Acari: Eriophyoidea) from Fujian Province, southeastern China. Zootaxa, 1894: 42～52.

(2) Song Zi-Wei, Xue Xiao-Feng, Hong Xiao-Yue. 2008. Eriophyoid mite fauna (Acari: Eriophyoidea) of Gansu Province, northwestern China with descriptions of twelve new species. Zootaxa, 1756: 1～48.

(3) Wang Zhen, Hong Xiao-Yue. 2008. Four new eriophyoid mite species in the tribe Anthocoptini (Acari: Eriophyidae: Phyllocoptinae) from China. Zootaxa, 1893: 38～48.

(4) Xue Xiao-Feng, Song Zi-Wei, Hong Xiao-Yue. 2008. Eight new species of the genus Aculus Keifer (Acari: Eriophyidae) from China. Zootaxa, 1721: 35～52.

(5) Song Zi-Wei, Xue Xiao-Feng, Hong Xiao-Yue. 2007. Four new species and a new name in the genus Rhyncaphytoptus Keifer (Acari: Eriophyoidea: Diptilomiopidae) from China. Zootaxa, 1502: 57~68.

(6) Song Zi-Wei, Xue Xiao-Feng, Hong Xiao-Yue. 2007. Description of seven new species in the genus Diptacus Keifer (Acari: Eriophyoidea: Diptilomiopidae: Diptilomiopinae) from northwestern China. Zootaxa, 1429: 39~53.

(7) Xue Xiao-Feng, Song Zi-Wei, Jr. James W. Amrine, Hong Xiao-Yue. 2007. Eriophyoid mites on coniferous plants in China with descriptions of a new genus and five new species (Acari: Eriophyoidea) International Journal of Acarology, 33(4): 333~345.

(8) Xue Xiao-Feng, Song Zi-Wei, Hong Xiao-Yue. 2007. Six new species of Tetra Keifer (Acari: Eriophyidae: Phyllocoptinae) from China. Zootaxa, 1614: 1~16.

(9) Xue Xiao-Feng, Song Zi-Wei, Hong Xiao-Yue. 2007. Five new species of the genus Tegolophus Keifer (Acari: Eriophyidae: Phyllocoptinae: Anthocoptini) from China. Zootaxa, 1525: 19~30.

(10) Xue Xiao-Feng, Song Zi-Wei, Hong Xiao-Yue. 2007. Seven new species of the genus Epitrimerus Nalepa (Acari: Eriophyidae: Phyllocoptinae) from China. Zootaxa, 1406: 1~15.

(11) Xue Xiao-Feng, Song Zi-Wei, Hong Xiao-Yue. 2007. Five new species and a new record of the genus Aculops Keifer (Acari: Eriophyidae: Phyllocoptinae) from China. Zootaxa, 1391: 57~68.

(12) Xiao-Feng Xue, Zi-Wei Song and Xiao-Yue Hong . 2006. A taxonomic study of the genus Tetra Keifer (Acari: Eriophyidae: Phyllocoptinae: Anthocoptini) from Shaanxi Province , China . Zootaxa, 1249: 1~22.

(13) Xiao-Feng Xue, Zi-Wei Song and Xiao-Yue Hong . 2006. Six new species of Rhyncaphytoptinae from northwestern China (Acari: Eriophyoidea: Diptilomiopidae). Zootaxa, 1225: 1 ~ 19.

(14) Xiao-Feng Xue and Xiao-Yue Hong . 2006. Eriophyoid mite fauna from Henan Province , central China (Acari: Eriophyoidea) with descriptions of five new species. Zootaxa, 1204: 1~30.

(15) Zi-Wei Song, Xiao-Feng Xue and Xiao-Yue Hong . 2006. A review of Chinese Phyllocoptes Nalepa (Acari: Eriophyoidea: Eriophyidae: Phyllocoptinae) with descriptions of five new species. Zootaxa, 1167: 31~45.

(16) Xiao-Feng Xue, Zi-Wei Song and Xiao-Yue Hong . 2006. Four new species of Diptilomiopinae from China (Acari: Eriophyoidea: Diptilomiopidae). Zootaxa, 1160: 57~68.

(17) Xiao-Feng Xue and Xiao-Yue Hong . 2005. A taxonomic study on the genus Aculus Keifer from China (Acari: Eriophyoidea: Eriophyidae) with a description of six new species. Transactions of the American Entomological Society, 131(3/4): 387~401.

(18) Xiao-Yue Hong , Xiao-Feng Xue and Jalil Hajizadeh. 2005. Two new species and two new records of eriophyid mites (Acari: Eriophyoidea: Eriophyidae) from Iran . International Journal of Acarology, 31(2): 129~132.

(19) Xiao-Feng Xue and Xiao-Yue Hong . 2005. Five new species of the genus Tetra Keifer (Acari: Eriophyoidea) from China . Zootaxa, 1067: 37 ~ 48.

(20) Xiao-Feng Xue and Xiao-Yue Hong . 2005. Five new species of Diptilomiopidae from China (Acari: Eriophyoidea). Zootaxa, 1055: 49~59.

(21) Xiao-Feng Xue and Xiao-Xue Hong . 2005. A new genus and eight new species of Phyllocoptini (Acari: Eriophyidae: Phyllocoptinae) from China . Zootaxa, 1039: 1~17.

(22) Xiao-Feng Xue and Xiao-Yue Hong . 2005. Three new species of Phyllocoptes Nalepa (Acari: Eriophyoidea: Eriophyidae) from China . Oriental Insects, 39: 213~220.

(23) Xiao-Yue Hong and Xiao-Feng Xue. 2005. Four new species of Aculops Keifer (Acari: Eriophyoidea: Eriophyidae) from China . Oriental Insects, 39: 203~211.

(24) Xiao-Feng Xue, Zi-Wei Song and Xiao-Yue Hong . 2005. A new species of Vittacus Keifer (Acari: Eriophyoidea: Phyllocoptinae) from Qinling Area , Shaanxi Province, China . Zootaxa, 992: 1~6.

(25) Hong, X.-Y. , Dong, H.Q., Fu, Y. G., Cheng, L.S. and Oldfield, G.N. 2001. Relationships between eriophyoid mites and their host plant, with a case review of Eriophyoidea fauna of China . Systematic and Applied Acarology , 6: 119~136.

(26) Dong, Hui-Qin and Hong, Xiao-Yue . 1998. Aceria yunnanensis , a new name for Eriophyes artemisia Xin & Dong (Acari: Eriophyidae). Systematic and Applied Acarology, 3: 199.

(27)Hong, Xiao-Yue and Dong, Hui-Qin. 1997. A review of economic eriophyoid mites in China . Systematic and Applied Acarology, 2: 17~32.

(28) Hong, Xiao-Yue and Zhang, Zhi-Qiang. 1997. Systematics and generic relationships of the mites in the subfamily Diptilomiopinae (Acari: Eriophyoidea: Diptilomiopidae). Systematic Entomology, 22: 313~331.

(29) Hong, Xiao-Yue and Zhang, Zhi-Qiang. 1996. A cladistic analysis of the Eriophyoidea (Acari: Prostigmata): tests of monophyly of families. Systematic and Applied Acarology, 1: 107~122.

(30) Hong, Xiao-Yue . 1996. Knorella thailandica , a new name for Knorella bambusae Chandrapatya and a key to world species of Knorella (Acari: Eriophyidae). Systematic and Applied Acarology, 1: 205~206.

(31) Hong, Xiao-Yue and Zhang, Zhi-Qiang. 1996. A phylogenetic study of the tribe Cecidophyini Keifer (Acari: Eriophyidae). Oriental Insects, 30: 279~300.