1Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, KSNUAHS, Shivamogga577204, Karnataka, India
2Department of Entomology, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore560065, Karnataka, India
3Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, KSNUAHS, Shivamogga577204, Karnataka, India
4Department of Biotechnology, College of Agriculture, KSNUAHS, Shivamogga577204, Karnataka, India
*Email: rajashekarappak@uahs.edu.in (corresponding author):
Online published on 26 February, 2026.
Eriophyoids are obligatory phytophagous, mostly host-specific, phytovirus vectors and causing malformation of economic plant parts. The risk of eriophyoids on all types of flora is increasing due to their ability to adapt and manipulate the host at their convenience. Hence, to document the eriophyoid species diversity, a survey was conducted in various agroecosystems in selected agro-climatic zones of Karnataka during 2023-2024. The present inventory recorded seven new records to India viz., Aceriaficarius Ueckermann, 1991 on Ficus racemosa Roxb.; Abacarus horseshoex Lu and Xue, 2023, Abacarus fuzhoubambusae Lu and Xue, 2023 and Knorella gigantochloae Keifer, 1975 on Bambusa sp.; Vittacus bougainvilleae (Keifer, 1959) on Bougainvillea spectabilis Willd.; Calacarus flagelliseta Flechtmann, De Moraes and Barbosa, 2001 on Carica papaya L.; Jutarus benjaminae Boczek and Chandrapatya, 1989 on Ficus benjamina L. Further, Aculops lycopersici (Tryon, 1917) on tomato in south India was observed causing extensive damage to leaves and fruits and Aceria boisi (Gerber, 1910) causing leaf galls on cinnamon, reducing the leaf quality and marketability.
New record, Eriophyoids, Diversity, Taxonomy, Aceria, Survey, Species, Abacarus, New records damage, Galls, Biodiversity, Distribution, Host diversity
