Studies on mites associated with lucerne in Greece

Abstract

Some results are given of a qualitative and quantitative study of arthropods associated with an old and a newly established lucerne plantation in the Kopais region, Co. Boiotia in central Greece, which commenced in April 1984. The species composition of mites in both plantations was found to be almost identical, and comprised approximately 30 species belonging to 21 families. The evaluation of taxa found using the criteria of dominance and frequency, showed that the most characteristic taxa in both plantations were: Tydeus cochii Baker, Zygoribatula spp., Lasioseius sp. and Tarsonemi-dae. During the first year of sampling, population densities of most taxa were much higher in the old than the new crop. Seasonal trends, however, were similar at both sites. During the second year of the study, there was a substantial increase in the densities of most mite taxa in the newly established crop.