Raoiella indica, commonly known as the red palm mite, is a species of mite belonging to the family Tenuipalpidae. A pest of several species of palm in the Middle East and South East Asia, it is now becoming established throughout the Caribbean. The invasion of this species is the biggest mite explosion ever observed in the Americas.

Distribution This species is indigenous to Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, Mauritius, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Réunion, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.

It is considered an invasive species in Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, Saint Martin, Trinidad and Tobago, the US Virgin Islands, Grenada, Haiti and Jamaica.

In 2007, the red palm mite was discovered in Florida. As of April, 2009, this pest has been found at almost 400 sites in five counties there.

Description

This species can be distinguished from most other mites by its colour, flat body, long spatulate setae, and droplets on the dorsal body setae. There is also a noticeable absence of the webbing associated with numerous other spider mites.Hoy MA, Peña J, Nguyen R. April 2010. http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/orn/palms/red_palm_mite.htm

The red palm mite has a long, bright red, spatulate body. During all stages of life, this species is red, with adult females often showing black patches on their backs after feeding.

Red palm mite eggs are 0.12 mm long and 0.09 wide. The eggs are smooth and can be found in groups attached to the underside of leaves.

Larvae are 0.18–.020 mm in length and only have three pairs of legs. Nymphs are 0.18–0.25 mm long.

Adults are approximately 0.32 mm long. Females are larger than males and have a triangular body.

Life cycle The egg stage ranges from 6 to 9 days. Development from egg to adult ranges from 23 to 28 days for females, and 20 to 22 days for males. The red palm mite lives for about 26 days.

Hosts This mite has been found on 32 different palm species. In the Caribbean, this species also infests banana plants, heliconias and gingers.

+ Known hosts of the red palm mite in the Caribbean and Florida as of 12–05–2009 Family Location Species Common name Palmae Caribbean Acoelorraphe wrightii , (Griseb.& H.A. Wendl.) Everglades palm, paurotis palm Palmae Florida Adonidia merrilli, (Becc.) Becc. Veitchia H.A. Wendl.) Manila palm, Christmas palm Palmae Caribbean Areca catechu betel nut palm Palmae Caribbean Areca, spp.   Palmae Florida Aiphanes caryotifolia, (H.B.K.) H.A. Wendl. Coyure palm, ruffle palm, spine palm Palmae Caribbean Aiphanes, spp. Willd. Multiple crown palm, ruffle palm Palmae Florida Archontophoenix alexandrae, (F. Muell.) Alexander palm, king palm Palmae Caribbean Bactris plumeriana, Mart. coco macaco, prickly pole Palmae Florida Beccariophoenix madagascariensis, Jum. & H. Perrier giant windowpane palm Palmae Caribbean Bismarckia nobilis, Hildebr. & H.A. Wendl. Bismarck palm Palmae Florida Butia capitata, (Mart) Becc. pindo palm, jelly palm Palmae Caribbean Caryota mitis, Lour. fishtail palm Palmae Caribbean Chamaedorea, spp. Willd. chamaedorea palm Palmae Florida Coccothrinax miraguama, (H.B.K.) Becc. Miraguama palm Palmae Florida Cocos nucifera, L. coconut palm Palmae Florida Corypha umbraculifera, L. Talipot palm Palmae Caribbean Dictyosperma album, (Bory) H.A. Wendl. & Drude ex Scheff. princess palm, hurricane palm Palmae Caribbean Dypsis decaryi, (Jum.) Beentje & J. Dransf. triangle palm Palmae Caribbean Dypsis lutescens, (H.A. Wendl.) Beentje & J.Dransf. areca palm, golden cane palm, butterfly palm Palmae Caribbean Elaeis guineensis, Jacq. African oil palm Palmae Caribbean Licuala grandis, H.A. Wendl. licuala palm, ruffled fan palm Palmae Florida Livistona, chinensis (Jacq.) R. Br. ex Mart. Chinese fan palm Palmae Florida Phoenix canariensis, Hort. ex Chabaud Canary Islands date palm Palmae Florida Phoenix dactylifera, L. date palm Palmae Florida Phoenix reclinata, Jacq. Senegal date palm Palmae Florida Phoenix roebelenii, O’Brien pygmy date palm, roebelenii palm Palmae Florida Pritchardia pacifica, B.C. Seem. & H.A. Wendl. Fiji fan palm Palmae Florida Pseudophoenix sargentii, H.A. Wendl. ex Sarg. buccaneer palm, Sargent's cherry palm Palmae Caribbean Pseudophoenix vinifera, (Mart.) Becc. cacheo, katié, wine palm Palmae Florida Ptychosperma elegans, (R. Br.) Blume solitaire palm, Alexander palm Palmae Florida Ptychosperma macarthurii, (H.A. Wendl.) Nichols Macarthur palm Palmae Caribbean Rhapis excelsa, (Thunb.) A. Henry lady palm, bamboo palm Palmae Caribbean Roystonea borinquena, O.F. Cook Puerto Rico royal palm Palmae Caribbean Roystonea regia, (HBK) O.F. Cook Florida royal palm Palmae Florida Schippia concolor, Burret silver pimento palm Palmae Florida Syagrus romanzoffiana, (Cham.) Glassman queen palm Palmae Caribbean Syagrus schizophylla, (Mart.) Glassman arikury palm Palmae Florida Thrinax radiata, Lodd. ex J.A. & J.H. Schultes Florida thatch palm Palmae Florida Veitchia, spp. H.A. Wendl. Manila palm Palmae Caribbean Washingtonia filifera, (Lind. ex André) H.A. Wendl. fan palm Palmae Florida Washingtonia robusta, H.A. Wendl. Mexican fan palm Palmae Florida Wodyetia bifurcata, A.K. Irvine foxtail palm Musaceae Caribbean Heliconia bihai, (L.) L. Macaw flower Musaceae Caribbean Heliconia caribaea, Lam. wild plantain, Balisier Musaceae Caribbean Heliconia psittacorum, L. f. parrot flower Musaceae Caribbean Heliconia rostrata, Ruiz & Pavon lobster claw heliconia Musaceae Florida Heliconia, spp.   Musaceae Caribbean Musa acuminata, Colla edible banana, plantain Musaceae Caribbean Musa balbisiana, Colla wild banana Musaceae Caribbean Musa coccinea Andrews red-flowering banana Musaceae Caribbean Musa corniculata, Rumph. red banana Musaceae Florida Musa, spp. banana, plantain Musaceae Caribbean Musa acuminata × balbisiana, L. edible banana, plantain Musaceae Caribbean Ravenala madagascariensis, Sonn. traveler's tree Musaceae Caribbean Strelitzia reginae, Aiton bird of paradise, crane flower Pandanaceae Caribbean Pandanus utilis, Bory screw pine Zingiberaceae Caribbean Alpinia purpurata, (Vieill.) K. Schum. red ginger, jungle king/queen Zingiberaceae Florida Alpinia zerumbet, (Pers.) B.L. Burtt & R.M. Sm. shell ginger, pink porcelain lily Zingiberaceae Caribbean Etlingera elatior, (Jack.) R.M. Sm. red torch ginger

Survey, detection and damage

The red palm mite forms colonies on the undersides of leaves. There, they feed on the contents of the cells of the leaves. This feeding can cause localized yellowing of the leaves.

Adults are usually visible to the naked eye.

Dispersal Like most other plant feeding mites, this species disperses on the wind. Tropical storms and hurricanes can distribute this mite over wide areas.

Management

Chemical control is considered impractical due to the large size of most palms. Some biological control agents have proven useful in the Eastern Hemisphere, including predatory mites, beetles, lacewings and other mite predators.

See also Invasive species Parasite

Notes

References

Further reading CariPestNet. 2006. Raoiella indica Hirst (Red Palm Mite) Etienne, J. and C.H.W. Flechtmann. 2006. First record of Raoiella indica (Hirst, 1924) (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) in Guadeloupe and Saint Martin, West Indies. International Journal of Acarology, 32(3): 331–332. Flechtmann, C.H.W. and J. Etienne. 2004. The red palm mite, Raoiella indica Hirst, a threat to palms in the Americas (Acari: Prostigmata: Tenuipalpidae). Systematic & Applied Acarology, 9: 109–110. Flechtmann, C.H.W. and J. Etienne. 2005. Un nouvel acarien ravageur des palmiers. Phytoma 584: 10–11. Gerson, U., A. Venezian & D. Blumberg. 1983. Phytophagous mites on date palms in Israel. Fruits, 38(2),133–135. Gutiérrez, B., N. Nohelia & A. Garcia. 2007. Situación actual del cocotero in al municipio Valdez del estado Sucre. Hirst, S. 1924. On some new species of red spider. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Set. 9, vol. 14: 522–527. Hoy, M.A., J. Peña and R. Nguyen. 2006. Red palm mite, Raoiella indica Hirst (Arácnida: Acari: Tenuipalpidae). University of Florida IFAS Extension. Kane, E.C., R. Ochoa, G. Mathurin, and E.F. Erbe. 2005. indica-Kane_et_al.pdf Raoiella indica Hirst (Acari: Tenuipalpidae): An island-hopping mite pest in the Caribbean. Entomological Society of America, Annual Meeting, Florida poster. Kane, E., and R. Ochoa. 2006. Detection and identification of the red palm mite Raoiella indica Hirst (Acari: Tenuipalpidae). USDA, ARS, Beltsville, MD, 6 pp. Mendonga, R.S., D. Navia, and C.H.W. Flechtmann. 2006. Raoiella indica Hirst (Prostigmata: Tenuipalpidae), o ácaro vermelho das palmeiras - uma ameaça para as Américas. Brasilia: Embrapa Recursos Geneticos e Biotecnologia (Portuguese). Nageshachandra, B.K. and G.P. Channabasavanna. 1984. Development and ecology of Raoiella indica Hirst (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) on coconut. Griffiths, D. A. & Bowman, C.E. (eds.), Acarology VI. 2: 785–790. Pena, J.E., C.M. Mannion, F.W. Howard and M.A. Hoy. 2006. Raoiella indica (Prostigmata: Tenuipalpidae): The red palm mite: A potential invasive pest of palms and Bananas and other tropical crops in Florida. University of Florida IFAS Extension, ENY-837. Rodrigues, J. C.V., R. Ochoa and E. Kane. 2007. First report of Raoiella indica Hirst (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) and its damage to coconut palms in Puerto Rico and Culebra Islands. International Journal of Acarology, 33(1): 3–5. Florida Department of Agriculture red palm mite updates

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