First record of mites associated with Scyphophorus acupunctatus\_ adults on blue agave in Tamaulipas, Mexico

Abstract

The agave weevil (Scyphophorus acupunctatus Gyllenhal) is regard-ed as one of the primary pests of blue agave (Agave tequilana Weber var. azul), and it causes substantial economic losses to the tequila and mezcal industries. We documented the associations between mites and adult S. acupunctatus in blue agave in a plantation in Tamaulipas, Mexi-co, because of the ecological signif-icance of mites and their potential impact on the population dynamics of this pest. To our knowledge, this is the first report of this insect in Tam-aulipas. Adult S. acupunctatus spec-imens were collected from damaged agave ``pineapples{''} and examined to detect the mites associated with these plants. The adults and nymphs of the mites were counted and iden-tified taxonomically. A total of 353 mites were recorded, and they were composed of 191 adults (177 females and 14 males) and 162 nymphs. Five species were identified. Four were members of the order Mesostig-mata (Lasioseius sp., Macrocheles merdarius, Uropoda orbicularis, and Tridiplogynium nu \& ntilde;ezi), and one was in the order Sarcoptiformes (Calo-glyphus mycophagus). The dominant species were M. merdarius (41\%) and T. nu \& ntilde;ezi (37\%). Macrocheles merdarius was found beneath the el-ytra of the weevils probably to take advantage of the protected micro habitat, while T. nu \& ntilde;ezi was predom-inantly located on the tibiae and tarsi. This location may facilitate its pas-sive transfer during the movement of the weevils. Additionally, a high-er load of T. nu \& ntilde;ezi was observed on the male weevils, which could pos-sibly be linked to their attraction to semiochemicals rather than the host size. The presence of mites that are frequently predators, such as macro-chelids, suggests a potential natural role in regulating the populations of agave weevils. These findings high-light the need to explore mites as prospective biological control agents within integrated pest management programs, so that that they can con-tribute to more sustainable cultiva-tion systems for agave.