First record of a phoretic astigmatid mite (Sancassania sp.; Acaridae: Astigmata) on oryctes agamemnon (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in UAE

Phoresy is a relationship between two different species of organisms in which the larger, or host, organism transports a smaller organism, the guest. The purpose of this research was to identify phoretic mites associated with Oryctes agamemnon Burmeister (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) and to provide a genetic profile using randomly amplified polymorphic DNApolymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR). The Oryctes agamemnon beetle is one of the major pests of date palm trees in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Based on traditional taxonomy, the collected phoretic mites belonged to the family Acaridae and the genus Sancassania. The molecular technique, RAPD-PCR, was employed to make a genetic profile of this phoretic mite. Nine random primers were used. The reaction products were developed with agarose gel electrophoresis. The total number of bands produced by the nine primers was 57. Each primer produced many bands of which few were intense and distinguished bands. The current study is the first record documenting the presence of Sancassania sp. in UAE and adds these mites to the list of species biodiversity.