Effect of agricultural crops on the diversity of Mesostigmata predating mites and prospecting for use in biological control

The knowledge of the edaphic mite fauna in Brazil is incipient, mainly in arable areas. One of the most common groups of edaphic mites are Mesostigmata, known for their potential as biological pest control agents. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine and compare the edaphic Mesostigmata groups found in agricultural crops, with different types of soil and management, and also in natural areas, in the Atlantic Forest biome, in São Paulo, including the description of two new species of Neogamasellevans and predation tests with species of Gamasina against thrips and nematodes. For this purpose, five collection areas were selected at the FCAV / UNESP Experimental Farm, four of them with agricultural crops, corn (A and B) and soybeans (A and B), each represented a soil with different characteristics, and an area of vegetation. Atlantic Forest. The highest abundance of mites and Gamasina were found in natural vegetation and soybean crops A. The largest population peak of mites and Gamasina occurred in December 2017. The most abundant family was Ologamasidae, followed by Laelapidae and Rhodacaridae. The most abundant species were Gamasiphis sp. 1, Gaeolaelaps sp. 1 and Afrodacarellus citri. When comparing the species found in the collection environments, a molecular analysis was performed with ribosomal, nuclear and mitochondrial primers. The results showed that the species found were grouped in the respective superfamilies. In addition, in the collection environments two new species of Neogamasellevans were discovered and described. The predation test showed a higher consumption of Stratiolaelaps scimitus under Caliothripes phaseoli and Tyrophagus putrescentiae compared to other predators. Protogamasellopsis zaheri showed greater oviposition and surviva (AU)