The predator guild associated with Aceria litchii (Acari: Eriophyidae) in Australia and China

Lychees were surveyed in Queensland, Australia and in Guangdong Province and Hainan Island China, for natural enemies of the lychee erinose mite, Aceria litchii (Keifer), one of the most serious pests of lychee in Australia. A guild of seventeen predators, including ten species of phytoseiid mites, was associated with lychee erinose in Queensland. Six other predaceous mite species and a cecidomyiid larva, Arthrocnodax sp. were also part of the complex. Despite the apparent predation of most of the seventeen species recorded in Queensland on A. litchii, the pest continues to cause major problems. In China, where A. litchii is a relatively minor pest, nine phytoseiid species were collected in lychee orchards. The value of introducing additional predators to Australia, especially from China, is discussed.