Potential geographical distribution of the red palm mite in South America

Abstract

Among pests that have recently been introduced into the Americas, the red palm mite, Raoiella indica Hirst (Prostigmata: Tenuipalpidae), is the most invasive. This mite has spread rapidly to several Caribbean countries, United States of America, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and Brazil. The potential dispersion of R. indica to other regions of South America could seriously impact the cultivation of coconuts, bananas, exotic and native palms and tropical flowers such as the Heliconiaceae. To facilitate the development of efficacious R. indica management techniques such as the adoption of phytosanitary measures to prevent or delay the dispersion of this pest, the objective of this paper was to estimate the potential geographical distribution of R. indica in South America using a maximum entropy model. The R. indica occurrence data used in this model were obtained from extant literature, online databases and field sampling data. The model predicted potential suitable areas for R. indica in northern Colombia, central and northern Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, east French Guiana and many parts of Brazil, including Roraima, the eastern Amazonas, northern Pará, Amapá and the coastal zones, from Pará to north of Rio de Janeiro. These results indicate the potential for significant R. indica related economic and social impacts in all of these countries, particularly in Brazil, because the suitable habitat regions overlap with agricultural areas for R. indica host plants such as coconuts and bananas.

What is the Southern Limit of the Distribution of Red Palm Mite, Raoiella indica (Acari: Tenuipalpidae), in Agricultural Lands in Brazil?

“…Although failure to find R. indica in some sampling areas could be by chance, its absence in areas of southern Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, and part of Paraná States) could reflect the ecological unsuitability of those places. These results fit well with what was predicted by the model developed by Amaro & Morais (2013), based on 20 environmental variables. The authors concluded that the variables that most influenced their prediction were related to temperature.…”

“…An examination of the historical records (Continente 2018) showed that average minimum monthly temperatures in places where R. indica was found in northern Paraná are at least 9 °C, except Maringá (7.2 °C), whereas in places where it was not found, temperatures are at most 9 °C, except Morretes, Palotina, Pontal do Paraná,and Terra Roxa (12.3,9.6,13.7,and 9.8 °C, respectively). However, according to that the study of Amaro & Morais (2013), it is still possible that the mite could be found further south, along the coast of Rio Grande to Sul and Santa Catarina, areas not surveyed in this work. Also, according to that study, R. indica is expected to be able to extend south of the maximum latitude where it was detected dur-ing the current study (Iporã), in neighboring Paraguay and Argentina, along the low lands of the Paraguay River basin.…”

“…Since its first report in Brazil in 2009, in the state of Roraima (Navia et al 2011), new records were published from the states of Amazonas (Rodrigues & Antony 2011), São Paulo (Oliveira et al 2016), Paraná (Hata et al 2017), Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Distrito Federal, Goiás, Maranhão, Minas Gerais, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte and Sergipe (Melo et al 2018). The risk of establishment of this mite in different parts of Brazil has been evaluated by Amaro & Morais (2013), although knowledge about the distribution of this mite in the southern half of the extensive Brazilian territory is still limited (Oliveira et al 2016;Hata et al 2017).…”

First Report ofRaoiella indica(Acari: Tenuipalpidae) in Southeastern Brazil

“…Because the prevailing climatic conditions of low rainfall and high temperature are favorable for the development of the red palm mite (Nagesha-Chandra & Channabasavanna 1983;Taylor et al 2012), introduction of the red palm mite to northeastern Brazil, which is the major regional producer of coconuts, is likely to significantly impact the coconut industry in the region Gondim et al 2012;Amaro & Morais 2013).…”

Amblyseius largoensis in controlling red palm mite under semi-field conditions

“…In Brazil, it is considered a quarantine pest and has been reported in the states of Roraima (Navia et al, 2011) and Amazonas (Rodrigues & Antony, 2011). Raoiella indica has a high potential to establish itself and to cause serious ecological and economic impacts in the country, particularly on coconut, banana, native palms, and flowers of the Heliconiaceae family (Amaro & Morais, 2013).…”