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NewsletteroftheAustralasianArachnologicalSociety Australasian No. 77 Page 2

THE AUSTRALASIAN ARTICLES ARACHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY The newsletter depends on your contributions! We encourage articles on a We aim to promote interest in the range of topics including current research ecology, behaviour and of activities, student projects, upcoming of the Australasian region. events or behavioural observations.

MEMBERSHIP Please send articles to the editor:

Membership is open to amateurs, Volker Framenau students and professionals, and is Department of Terrestrial Invertebrates managed by our Administrator: Western Australian Museum Locked Bag 49 Richard J. Faulder Welshpool, W.A. 6986, . Agricultural Institute Yanco, New South Wales 2703. [email protected] Australia Format: i) typed or legibly printed on A4 email : [email protected] paper or ii) as text or MS Word file on CD, 3½ floppy disk, or via email. Membership fees in Australian dollars (per 4 issues): LIBRARY

The AAS has a large number of *discount personal institutional reference books, scientific journals and Australia $8 $10 $12 papers available for loan or as NZ / Asia $10 $12 $14 photocopies, for those members who do elsewhere $12 $14 $16 not have access to a scientific library. There is no agency discount. Professional members are encouraged to All postage is by airmail. send in their arachnological reprints. *Discount rates apply to unemployed, pensioners and students (please provide proof of status). Contact our librarian:

Cheques are payable in Australian Jean-Claude Herremans dollars to “Australasian Arachnological PO Box 291 Society”. Any number of issues can be paid Manly, New South Wales 1655. for in advance. Receipts issued on request. Australia Members will receive a PDF-version of email: [email protected] Australasian Arachnology. (hardcopies for long-standing individual members, libraries and societies in exchange). Members will COVER ILLUSTRATION: be notified by mail and email when their Male Dolomedes sp. from Victoria. subscription has expired. By Peter Flagstaff Previous issues of the newsletter are available at www.australasian- arachnology.org/newsletter/issues. Australasian Arachnology No. 77 Page 3

EDITORIAL Lynne Forster 17 King St Sandy Bay, Tas 7005 You could easily call this new issue of Australia Australasian Arachnology a special ‘ [email protected] edition. Putting this newsletter together, I learned a lot about , and this is what Bruce Halliday, the authors of our feature Change of Address article apparently had in mind. Thanks Bruce, for this great introduction to mite Karen Edward systematics and biology! I will upload this School of Biology article onto our website soon to make it University of Western Australia available for a wider audience Crawley, WA 6009 (www.australasian-arachnology.org). Australia [email protected] I have not received any articles for the next issue, so please sharpen your pencils and Sydney Jordan send some articles for Australasian 21 Undara Ave Arachnology 78 which is scheduled for Buddina, Qld 4575 release in September. Australia [email protected] I have not quite packed my bags yet for Brazil, but I am looking forward to catching ------up with many of our readers at this year’s th 17 International Congress of Arachnology LIBRARY in São Pedro UPDATE (http://www.ib.usp.br/~ricrocha/ISA17/ISA1

7.htm). Our librarian Jean-Claude Herremans Cheers, received reprints of publications from Volker Helen Smith, Wilson Lourenco, and Herb Levi (via Laura Leipensperger). Thanks a lot to Helen, Wilson and Herb! MEMBERSHIP All our members should consider UPDATES donating reprints of their publications to New Members our library, which is an important source of information for our members without Tenille Nielson access to a professional library! 39 Gregory Terrace I will include an updated list of our Kuranda, Qld 4881 library holdings in one of the next Australia newsletters and will hopefully be able to [email protected] upload this list onto our website at some

stage as well.

Australasian Arachnology No. 77 Page 4

than those devoted to arachnology. This Mites are arachnids too is a reflection of the fact that mites have much in common with , especially Bruce Halliday, CSIRO , as pests of cultivated plants and crops. GPO Box 1700, Canberra ACT 2601, The purpose of this general article is to [email protected] make mites more accessible to arachnologists who do not have specialist Introduction knowledge of .

Almost all arachnids are predators. The only group of arachnids that has managed Classification of the to break out of the predatory habit on a large scale is the mites, which have Mites are the smallest arachnids in terms diversified into an extraordinary range of of body size (although the biggest mites niches. Many are still predatory, but there are bigger than the smallest ). are also thousands of species of plant Adults of most species of mites are in the feeders, fungivores, saprophytes, pollen range 300–800 micrometres in body and nectar feeders, microbial filter length. Mites are also distinguished from feeders, and internal and external other arachnids by the complete absence parasites on a wide range of vertebrates of body segmentation, and by the and invertebrates. Others have a complex fundamental organisation of the body. life cycle, in which parasitism and There is no division of the body into predation occur at different life stages cephalothorax and abdomen. Instead, the within a species, and others are mouthparts and associated sensory omnivorous. Mites occur in soil and structures form a discrete anterior decomposing organic matter, in fresh structure known as the gnathosoma. All water and sea water, high in the air, deep the rest of the animal's anatomical in the oceans, on and in the bodies of structures, including leg bases, central other , and on plants of all kinds. nervous system, ocelli when present, and This ecological diversity has been reproductive and digestive systems, are accompanied by a bewildering degree of all fused into a single unsegmented body morphological diversity. Their called the . diversification has in turn been reinforced Many systems of higher classi- by their small body size, which allows fication have been used for the mites, them to occupy minute spaces, and and many different names have been makes it necessary to use specialised used for the higher taxa of mites at all techniques for their observation and levels. In the most modern classification, taxonomic study. All of these factors the mites are placed in the class Acari, conspire to create an artificial division within which there are two superorders. between acarologists and other The superorder includes arachnologists, to the extent that mites order Opilioacarida, order , have their own literature, their own order Ixodida, and order . anatomical terminology, and their own The superorder includes national and international conferences. order and order One of the outcomes of this division is (Walter 2006; Krantz and that research papers on mites are more Walter 2007). likely to be found in entomology journals Australasian Arachnology No. 77 Page 5

The order Opilioacarida includes a Australia, all in the family Allothyridae single family of large mites (≥ 1 mm) that (van der Hammen 1983), but many other have many character states that are undescribed species have been collected considered to be ancestral (Krantz 1978). and await study. They are widespread but rare in semi-arid There are about 80 known species of climates, where they are found under stones. An unidentified species has been , order Ixodida, in Australia (Roberts collected in Kakadu National Park, where 1970; Keirans et al. 1994, 1996). They are it feeds on mites and insects, as well as all blood-feeding parasites of mammals, fungal hyphae and pollen (Walter and reptiles and birds, and are characterised Proctor 1998). by mouthparts with a large number of backward-directed hooks that are inserted into the host for feeding. The best known Australian species is the paralysis holocyclus, which can be dangerous to the health of humans and dogs (Anonymous 2003). The order Mesostigmata (e.g. Fig. 1) includes about 80 families of relatively large mites with adult body lengths in the range 300–3000 mm. They are characterised by a series of leathery sclerotised plates that cover the body, and by a pair of laterally-placed stigmata, which are the external openings of the tracheal system. Most are predatory, while a few also feed on pollen and nectar. They occur in a wide range of habitats, including soil and litter, but are also Fig. 1: Species of Asca (Mesostigmata: abundant in dung, carrion, compost, and Ascidae) are recognised by the pair of in the nests of vertebrates. Many are prominent horns or protuberances on beneficial, contributing to the control of the posterior margin of the body. and mite pests. Notable among About 80 species occur in leaf litter these is the arboreal family , and moss world-wide, where they prey which are widely used in the control of on mites, insect eggs and larvae, and mites that damage crop plants nematodes (Gerson et al. 2003). Many families are Photograph: D.E. Walter parasites of vertebrates, including families The order Holothyrida includes large such as the and Macro- mites (≥ 2 mm) with a heavily sclerotised nyssidae, which parasitise domesticated and highly-arched body, which feed animals and can attack humans readily on dead (Walter and (Southcott 1976). Many families have Proctor 1998). The order includes about associations with insects. These 25 species in three familes, and has a relationships vary from simple phoresy for Gondwanan distribution. Only three the purpose of dispersal, to much closer species have been described from relationships in which the mite has specialised morphological and be- Australasian Arachnology No. 77 Page 6 havioural adaptations at different stages the predatory families Bdellidae and of the life cycle that are involved in its Cunaxidae, whose members have been interaction with its insect carrier. Sexual used as biological control agents of mite dimorphism is common, in the general pests in pastures and horticulture (Gerson arrangement of body sclerites, in et al. 2003). The superfamily modification of the legs of the male which includes thousands of are used in fighting, and in structures on species of plant parasites, many of which the male that are used in are important crop pests, either through sperm transfer. the damage they cause directly, or through their role as vectors of plant viruses. The cohort Anystina includes beneficial predatory species among its 6 families. The cohort includes hundreds of species, most of which have a complex life cycle in which the larval stage is a parasite and later stages are free-living predators. Larval are parasites of vertebrates, commonly known as chiggers, the Australian fauna of which has been catalogued by Domrow and Lester (1985). Several families including Fig. 2: Stereotydeus (: and have Penthalodidae) is a of brightly larvae that are parasitic on insects, and coloured and ornamented mites found terrestrial adults that are often called red in moss and leaf litter in the Southern velvet mites. Only a handful of species Hemisphere, including Antarctica. have been reared in captivity to allow the Little is known of their biology, but they adults and larvae to be correlated. A are believed to be predatory. further group of families is collectively Photograph: D.E. Walter known as “water mites” or Hydracarina. The larvae of these groups are mostly The order Trombidiformes, also parasites of aquatic insects, and the known as Prostigmata (e.g. Fig. 2), is the adults are often large brightly coloured most diverse of the major mite groups, in mites that can be found swimming in fresh terms of the number of species it water. Harvey (1998) reviewed the contains, and in the range of Australian fauna, which includes over 400 morphological and behavioural variation known species spread over 24 families. A they display. They are called Prostigmata further important group of Prostigmata because the stigmata are usually located includes the spider mites of the family at the base of the mouthparts, or on the Tetranychidae. These are damaging pests anterior margin of the opisthosoma. The of crop plants, especially in horticulture, cohort Eupodina includes the family but the Australian fauna has never been Penthalaeidae, in which the redlegged systematically studied. The cohort earth mite Halotydeus destructor and blue Heterostigmata includes about 12 families oat mite Penthleus major are serious of small to minute mites, many of which pests of crops and pastures in southern have close associations with insects. The Australia. The same cohort also includes existence of intra-species polymorphism Australasian Arachnology No. 77 Page 7 and often bizarre morphologies has meant for dispersal. The Astigmata also includes that the taxonomy of these groups is very hundreds of species of feather mites that unstable, even at the family level. A occur on birds, but the Australian fauna of diverse range of families of Prostigmata these groups has never been studied in that are parasites of vertebrates have any depth. Domrow (1992) catalogued been catalogued by Domrow (1991). 204 species of Astigmata in 24 families that parasitise Australian vertebrates or The order Sarcoptiformes includes occur on their bodies. These include the over 130 families of soil mites in the mites that cause such diseases as suborder , commonly known as scabies ( scabiei), scaly leg of oribatids. These are mostly slow-moving, ( mutans) and heavily sclerotised mites that are most several types of mange in domestic abundant and diverse in the upper layers animals (e. g. the ear mite of dogs and of the soil and the associated organic cats, Otodectes cynotis). litter. They feed on dead plant material and the associated microfungi, and most The Australian mite fauna have very robust heavily sclerotised chelicerae, adapted for crushing fungal A recent review estimated that there are mycelium. Their role in feeding on 48,000 named and described species of decaying plant material means that they mites world-wide (Halliday et al. 2000), are very important in maintaining and and extrapolated that number to speculate enhancing soil fertility, and they have that over half a million species of mites been the subject of a substantial exist in total. In Australia, 2,871 described ecological literature for that reason. A few species in 304 families had been species are beneficial in more direct documented to April 2000 (Halliday ways, contributing to the control of pest 2001a), and the total number of species mites, nematodes, and weeds. Others are that exist is likely to exceed 20,000 themselves pests that damage crop plants (Halliday 2001b). Significant habitats such (Colloff and Halliday 1998). Some act as as the rainforest canopy remain largely intermediate vectors of tapeworm unexplored, and diverse faunas await parasites of livestock (Denegri 1993). The discovery there (Walter et al. 1998). Major Australian fauna was catalogued by groups have never been studied in a Colloff and Halliday (1998), who listed 340 systematic way, and are likely to contain described species. large numbers of undescribed species. Conspicuous among these are the feather The order Sarcoptiformes also mites, with possibly 2,000 unknown includes the cohort Astigmata, which until Australian species, the plant parasites of recently has been given equal rank with the family , with posssibly the Oribatida. The Astigmata includes the 5,000 unknown species, and the common flour mites and cheese mites Halacaridae (Prostigmata) and Uropodina that infest stored food and which damage (Mesostigmata), each of which is likely to stored grain on an industrial scale, the yield hundreds of species (Halliday house dust mites that cause allergy and 2001b). A single expedition by a single asthma in humans, and a wide range of acarologist revealed 200 new species of fungivorous and saprophytic species in aquatic mites (Cook 1986), and similar soil. Many of these species have a results are likely when serious attention is specialised immature form known as the hypopus, which attaches itself to insects Australasian Arachnology No. 77 Page 8 paid to other groups that have previously 1998), Nothogynidae (Walter and Krantz been neglected. 1999), Saltiseiidae (Walter 2000), and Uronyssidae and Teranyssidae (Halliday There are no general estimates of the 2006). level of endemism in the Australian mite fauna. Colloff and Halliday (1998) Acarology in Australia documented 340 species of Australian Oribatida, including 256 that were The history of the of acarology in described from Australian type localities Australia has been reviewed in some and had not been recorded elsewhere. depth (Southcott 1982; Halliday 2001b). Many distinctive elements of the The main trends have been research on Australian mite fauna are found in those agricultural pest mites and their natural mite groups that have intimate enemies, on mite parasites of vertebrates, associations with other components of our including humans and domesticated flora and fauna. The mites parasitic on animals, on mites that have various types vertebrates have been catalogued in of association with Australian insects, and detail (Domrow 1988, 1991, 1992; on the native mite fauna in agricultural Domrow and Lester 1985), and all these and forest soils. parasitic groups include species and genera that are found only on Australian There is no single comprehensive mite native vertebrate hosts. The ticks were the collection in Australia. Instead, there are subject of a monograph by Roberts collections in a number of institutions (1970), but new species are still being where the research effort has historically found on native vertebrates (e.g. Keirans been concentrated. The South et al. 1994, 1996). The same is likely to Australian Museum in Adelaide has had apply to the Australian feather mites, the longest history of research in truly which are almost completely unstudied. Australian mite taxonomy. Research there Plant-parasitic groups that have some began with the work of Stanley Hirst, who degree of host specificity are also likely to was publishing from about 1912 to 1930, include many endemic species and on a very wide range of mite groups. genera, especially the Eriophyidae and Herbert Womersley worked in the South Tetranychidae. Among the free-living Australian Museum from 1933 to 1962 groups in forest litter, Australia has a rich (Southcott 1964). His work includes and distinctive fauna of Holothyrina and important publications on chiggers predatory Mesostigmata that have not (Trombiculidae), including the vector of been adequately studied. The Uropodina scrub typhus; on other parasites of are now being examined closely for the vertebrates; on beneficial predatory first time, and are yielding many surprises groups; on pasture pest mites and their (e.g. Błoszyk et al. 2005; Dylewska et al. natural enemies; and on the families of 2006). Mesostigmata that dominate the fauna of soil and forest litter in this country. No The rapid rate of change in the modern study of Australian taxonomic classification of Australian mites is clearly acarology is complete without constant demonstrated by the fact that new families reference to Womersley’s publications are still being described. Recent and collections. Acarology at the South examples are Eriorhynchidae (Qin and Australian Museum continued with Ron Halliday 1997), Heatherellidae (Walter Southcott, who published hundreds of 1997), Dasythyreidae (Walter and Gerson papers from about 1945 to 1999 on a Australasian Arachnology No. 77 Page 9 wide range of subjects. He is best known with many other groups of insects, but for his major works on trombidiform mites, only a minority of these have been especially the Erythraeidae (Southcott documented. There is a representative 1961), Trombidiidae (Southcott 1986) and collection of marine mites of the family Microtrombidiidae (Southcott 1994). The Halacaridae (e.g. Otto 1994, 1999d), and Adelaide tradition was continued by David some families of oribatids are represented Lee, who published important revisionary (Niedbala 1987; Niedbala and Colloff work on Mesostigmata (e.g. Lee 1970) 1997). There is a large collection of ticks, and Oribatida (e.g. Lee 1992, 1993). most importantly those documented by Roberts (1970). The mite fauna of forest The Agricultural Scientific litter is huge and diverse, and a few Collections Unit at the New South preliminary studies of ANIC collections of Wales Department of Primary these groups have appeared (Halliday Industries, Orange Agricultural 1997; Halliday et al. 1998). The collection Institute, Orange NSW, has an important also houses hundreds of unsorted collection of predatory Phytoseiidae samples of fauna from forest litter and created by Eberhard Schicha (Schicha other habitats, and these contain very rich 1987; Schicha and Corpuz-Raros 1992), collections of mites that await study. which includes many type specimens. There are also collections of other groups The Queensland Museum in of plant mites including , Brisbane houses a collection of Tetranychidae and Pygmephoridae. approximately 16,000 slides and 2,500 These are now being supplemented by a vials of mites. By far the most significant growing collection of plant parasites of the portion of this collection is Bob Domrow’s family Eriophyidae (Knihinicki and Boczek collection of about 13,000 slides and 2002, 2003). 1,000 tubes of mites from mammals, birds and reptiles, which was originally housed The mite collection in the Australian at the Queensland Institute of Medical National Insect Collection in Canberra, Research. Only a small portion of these has grown as a result of a series of slides have been registered, and even research projects on mite and insect pests fewer databased. The remainder of the and their natural enemies. A long term collection comprises about 1,000 vials of program of research on red-legged earth mixed mites (mostly from pitfall trap mites has included taxonomic studies of samples), 500 vials of ticks, and another the pest and its relatives (Qin and Halliday 3,000 slides that have a strong focus on 1996a, 1996b, 1997), and families of the Trigynaspida, Podapolipidae and predatory mites that occur in the same Tetranychidae (e.g. Seeman and Nahrung habitats, especially Anystidae and 2005). The Entomology section also holds Bdellidae (Wallace and Mahon 1973, a collection of 1,270 Berleseates, mostly 1976; Otto 1999a, 1999b, 1999c; Halliday from the wet forests of coastal 2005). The result was the formation of Queensland, which are a rich source of large collections of plant-feeding and unstudied mites. predatory mites from pastures, both from Australia and overseas. The ANIC also The University of Queensland Insect includes large collections of mites Collection houses a very substantial associated with dung and dung beetles collection of mites, which was largely built (e.g. Wallace 1986; Halliday 2000) and up through the efforts of Dave Walter. Most of the major families are Australasian Arachnology No. 77 Page 10 represented, with strength in soil and litter The Western Australian Museum in Mesostigmata, predatory Phytoseiidae Perth has strong collections of mites in a (Beard 2001), plant-feeding spider mites range of families. There is an important (Tetranychidae) and false spider mites collection of types of mites parasitic on (Tenuipalpidae), and some of the lesser vertebrates, mostly described in a series known families of Prostigmata, including of papers that appeared in Records of the aquatic families. There is also a good Western Australian Museum in 1978– range of Oribatid families, and both free- 1981, under the general title Parasites of living and parasitic Astigmata. About 25% Western Australia (e.g. Fain and of the collection has been catalogued in Lukoschus 1979, 1981). There is also a the UQIC database. An outline of this large collection of marine mites of the catalogue is available at family Halacaridae, especially the species http://www.sib.uq.edu.au/acarina- from Rottnest Island (e.g. Bartsch 1993, catalogue, and contains links to a number 1994), a collection of water mites from of spectacular mite images. Western Australia (Harvey 1988, 1996), a good collection of ticks, and a large The Museum of Victoria mite quantity of unsorted mite material. collection in Melbourne includes a substantial collection of water mites from Further reading Victoria. It includes types and identified material (Harvey 1990a; Harvey and Cook There are several excellent modern 1988), as well as unidentified water mites textbooks of acarology. Evans (1992) is a from multidisciplinary surveys of river comprehensive review of mite , faunas. There are also significant holdings morphology, and behaviour, with detailed of unidentified and sorted and unsorted coverage of the structure and function of mites from soils in a range of Victorian the integument, musculature, circulatory, forests and woodlands, collected in pitfall respiratory and sensory systems, feeding, traps during and digestion, physiology, reproduction and environmental management surveys. mating, and development and dispersal. There is also a summary of classification, Acarology at the Australian Museum with keys to higher taxa down to the (Sydney) began with Rainbow (1906), the superfamily level. Walter and Proctor first attempt to produce an overview of the (1999) thoroughly explores the Australian mite fauna, and some of evolutionary origin of mites, the Rainbow's types are still in the collection. morphology and systematics of the major The tick collection there includes types of mite groups, and the life cycles, some species described by Roberts, development, behaviour, reproduction, among others (e.g. Roberts 1960). There habitat and ecological relationships of is also a collection of water mites, mites, and uses mites as models to including some described by Harvey demonstrate a wide range of phenomena (1987, 1990a, b), but the collection is in evolutionary biology. The most detailed dominated by oribatids described by textbook of mite taxonomy is Krantz Glenn Hunt (Hunt 1996a, b; Hunt and Lee (1978), which provides keys down to the 1995). The slide collection is supported by family level for all groups. Each family substantial holdings of non-type and study includes information on biology and unidentified mite accessional material. behaviour, evolutionary relationships and including bulk samples from pitfall and economic importance, and a taxonomic litter collecting. Australasian Arachnology No. 77 Page 11 overview of the family. The current 1978 presence of many very distinctive edition will soon be replaced by Krantz components of our fauna, and the and Walter (2007), which presents the existence of thousands of undescribed latest concepts in mite classification. species and higher taxa, there is not one full-time professional mite taxonomist in Many research publications in Australia. The research effort is being acarology appear in Acarologia, sustained by people working International Journal of Acarology, opportunistically part-time, or voluntarily in Systematic and Applied Acarology, retirement, or by overseas acarologists Experimental and Applied Acarology, and who are working on the Australian fauna. a range of other acarology and There is no regular training in acarology at entomology journals. Much important undergraduate or postgraduate level in information also appears in the Australian universities. Many challenges Proceedings of the International Congress lie ahead in Australian acarology, and of Acarology. The latest of these to be many important questions in mite published was from the 1998 Canberra systematics remain unanswered. An Congress (Halliday et al. 2001). The increase in the level of basic skills in mite Proceedings of the 2002 Mexico taxonomy will be needed if Australia is to Congress is in press, and that of the 2006 avoid mistakes in biosecurity and pest Amsterdam Congress is in preparation. management, to realise the potential of Other important recent compilations of mites as a source of information in papers presented at acarological biodiversity conservation, and to make an conferences include Schuster and Murphy adequate contribution to international (1991), Wrensch and Ebbert (1993), efforts to document this fascinating group Kropczyńska et al. (1995), and Bernini et of animals. al. (2002). A variety of valuable information about Acknowledgements acarology is available on the internet I am very grateful to Dave Walter for through the Acarology Home Page, at permission to reproduce the illustrations, http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted_sites/acarol and to Owen Seeman, Greg Daniels, ogy/ . This site provides contact details for Graham Milledge, and Peter Lillywhite, acarologists and their institutions, details who provided valuable information about of acarological societies and publications, the mite collections in their care. and an e-mail discussion list. References Conclusions One of the subjects that is discussed Anonymous 2003. Ticks. among acarologists on the e-mail (http://medent.usyd.edu.au/fact/ticks.h discussion list and elsewhere is the tm) (date of access 10 January 2007). steady decline in the level of basic skills in our science. In 1998 the acarologists of Bartsch, I. 1993. Rhombognathine mites Australia felt confident enough in the (Halacaridae, Acari) from Rottnest strength of their science to host the 10th Island, Western Australia. In Wells, International Congress of Acarology. In F.E., Walker, D.I., Kirkman, H. & 2007, despite the enormous economic Lethbridge, R. 1993, The Marine importance of mites, the demonstrated Flora and Fauna of Rottnest Island, Australasian Arachnology No. 77 Page 12

Western Australia. (Western Domrow R. 1991. Acari Prostigmata Australian Museum, Perth). pp. 19–43. (excluding Trombiculidae) parasitic on Australian vertebrates: an annotated Bartsch, I. 1994. Copidognathus checklist, keys and bibliography. (Halacaridae: Acari) from Western Invertebrate Taxonomy 4, 1238-1376. Australia. Description of twelve species of the gibbus group. Records Domrow R. 1992. Acari Astigmata of the Western Australian Museum 16, (excluding feather mites) parasitic on 535–566. Australian vertebrates: an annotated checklist, keys and bibliography. Beard J.J. 2001. A review of Australian Invertebrate Taxonomy 6, 1459-1606. Hughes and de Leon (Acari: Domrow R. & Lester L.N. 1985. Chiggers Phytoseiidae: ). of Australia (Acari: Trombiculidae): an Invertebrate Taxonomy 15, 73-158. annotated checklist, keys and bibliography. Australian Journal of Bernini F., Nannelli R., Nuzzaci G. & de Supplementary Series 114, 1- Lillo E. (Eds.). 2002. Acarid 111. Phylogeny and Evolution: Adaptation in Mites and Ticks. Kluwer, Dordrecht. Dylewska M., Błoszyk J. & Halliday R.B. 451 pp. 2006. Platysetosus occultus gen. nov., sp. nov., a new genus and species of Błoszyk J., Halliday R.B. & Dylewska M. mite from Tasmania (Acari: 2005. Acroseius womersleyi gen. nov., Uropodina). Zootaxa 1223, 55-64. sp. nov., a new genus and species of Uropodina from Australia (Acari: Evans G.O. 1992. Principles of Trachytidae). Systematic and Applied Acarology. CAB International, Acarology 10, 41-60. Wallingford UK. 563 pp. Colloff M.J. & Halliday R.B. 1998. Fain, A. & Lukoschus F.S. 1979. Oribatid Mites. A Catalogue of the Parasites of Western Australia. VI. Australian Genera and Species. Myobiidae parasitic on bats (Acarina : CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne. 223 pp. Prostigmata). Records of the Western Australian Museum 7, 61-107. Cook D.R. 1986. Water mites from Australia. Memoirs of the American Fain, A. & Lukoschus F.S. 1981. Entomological Institute 40, 1-568. Parasites of Western Australia. XII. Atopomelidae parasitic on rodents Denegri G.M. 1993. Review of oribatid (Acari : Listrophoroidea). Records of mites as intermediate hosts of the Western Australian Museum 8, tapeworms of the Anoplocephalidae. 563-584. Experimental and Applied Acarology 17, 567-580. Gerson U., Smiley R.L. & Ochoa R. 2003. Mites (Acari) for Pest Control. Domrow R. 1988. Acari Mesostigmata Blackwell, Oxford, 539 pp. parasitic on Australian vertebrates: an annotated checklist, keys and Halliday R.B. 1997. Revision of the bibliography. Invertebrate Taxonomy Australian Ameroseiidae (Acarina: 1, 817-948. Australasian Arachnology No. 77 Page 13

Mesostigmata). Invertebrate (National Academy Press, Washington Taxonomy 10, 179-201. DC). pp. 192-203. Halliday R.B. 2000. The Australian Halliday R.B., Walter D.E., Proctor H.C., species of Macrocheles (Acarina: Norton R.A. & Colloff M.J. (Eds.). Macrochelidae). Invertebrate 2001. Acarology. Proceedings of the Taxonomy 14, 273-326. 10th International Congress. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne. 657 pp. Halliday R.B. 2001a. Arachnida: Acarina. In Australian Faunal Directory. Web Hammen L. van der 1983. New notes on site address Holothyrida (Anactinotrichid mites). http://www.deh.gov.au/cgi- Zoologische Verhandelingen 207, 1- bin/abrs/abif- 48. fauna/details.pl?pstrVol=ACARINA;pst rTaxa=1;pstrChecklistMode=1 Harvey M.S. 1987. New and little-known (Australian Biological Resources species of the water mite genera Study, Canberra). Tartarothyas, Pseudohydryphantes and Cyclohydryphantes from Australia Halliday R.B. 2001b. 250 years of (: Actinedida: Hydry- Australian acarology. In: Acarology: phantidae). Memoirs of the Museum of th Proceedings of the 10 International Victoria 48, 107-122. Congress (Halliday R.B., Walter D.E., Proctor, H.C., Norton, R.A. and Harvey, M.S. 1988. Two new species of Colloff, M.J., eds.). CSIRO the water mite genus Aspidiobates Publishing, Melbourne, pp. 3-16. Lundblad from Western Australia (Acarina: Hygrobatidae). Records of Halliday R.B. 2005. Predatory mites from the Western Australian Museum 14, crops and pastures in South Africa: 199-209. Potential natural enemies of redlegged earth mite Halotydeus destructor Harvey M.S. 1990a. Two new species of (Acari: ). Zootaxa 1079, Partidomomonia Cook from south- 11-64. eastern Australia (Acarina: Momo- niidae). Memoirs of the Museum of Halliday R.B. 2006. New taxa of mites Victoria 50, 337-340. associated with Australian termites (Acari: Mesostigmata). International Harvey M.S. 1990b. Pezidae, a new Journal of Acarology 32, 27-38. freshwater mite family from Australia (Acarina : Halacaroidea). Invertebrate Halliday R.B., Walter D.E. & Lindquist Taxonomy 3, 771-781. E.E. 1998. Revision of the Australian Ascidae (Acarina: Mesostigmata). Harvey, M.S. 1996. A review of the water Invertebrate Taxonomy 12, 1-54. mite family Pionidae in Australia (Acarina: ). Records of Halliday R.B., OConnor B.M. & Baker the Western Australian Museum 17, A.S. 2000. Global diversity of mites. In 361-393. Raven, P. and Williams, T. (eds). Harvey M.S. 1998. The Australian Water Nature and Human Society: The Quest Mites. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne. for a Sustainable World. Proceedings 150 pp. of a Conference, 27-30 October 1997. Australasian Arachnology No. 77 Page 14

Harvey M.S. & Cook D.R. 1988. Water Knihinicki D.K. & Boczek J. 2003. mites of the genus Aspidiobates from Studies of eriophyoid mites (Acari: Victoria, with the description of two Eriophyoidea) of Australia: A new new species (Chelicerata : Acarina : genus and seven new species Hygrobatidae). Memoirs of the associated with tea trees, Melaleuca Museum of Victoria 49, 51-57. spp. (Myrtaceae). Australian Journal of Entomology 42, 215-232. Hunt G.S. 1996a. A review of the genus Pedrocortesella Hammer in Australia Krantz G.W. 1978. A Manual of (Acarina: Cryptostigmata: Pedro- Acarology. Second Edition. Oregon cortesellidae). Records of the State University Bookstore, Corvallis, Australian Museum 48, 223-286. Oregon. 509 pp. Hunt G.S. 1996b. A review of the family Krantz G.W. & Walter D.E. (eds.) 2007. Pheroliodidae Paschoal in Australia A Manual of Acarology. Third Edition. (Acarina: Cryptostigmata: Platere- Texas Tech University Press (in press) maeoidea). Records of the Australian Kropczyńska D., Boczek J. & Tomczyk Musuem 48, 325-358. A. (Eds.). 1995. The Acari. Hunt G.S. & Lee D.C. 1995. Physiological and Ecological Aspects Plateremaeoid mites (Arachnida: of Acari-Host Relationships. Oficyna Acarina: Cryptostigmata) from South Dabor, Warszawa. 698 pp. Australian soils. In Australasian Spiders and Their Relatives: Papers Lee D.C. 1970. The Rhodacaridae (Acari : Honouring Barbara York Main. Mesostigmata); classification, external Records of the Western Australian morphology and distribution of genera. Records of the South Australian Museum, Supplement 52, 225-241. Museum 16, 1-219. Keirans J.E., King D.R. & Sharrad R.D. Lee D.C. 1992. New species of 1994. Aponomma (Bothriocroton) Oribatulidae (Acarida: Cryptostigmata: glebopalma, n. subgen., n. sp., and Planofissurae) from South Australian glauerti n. sp. (Acari: soils, with a review of subfamilies and Ixodida: ), parasites of monitor Australian records. Records of the lizards (Varanidae) in Australia. South Australian Museum 26, 37-49. Journal of Medical Entomology 31, 132-147. Lee D.C. 1993. Incabates Hammer and Setincabates gen. nov. (Acarida: Keirans J.E., Bull, C.M. & Duffield G.A. Cryptostigmata: Haplozetidae) from 1996. Amblyomma vikirri n. sp. (Acari: South Australian soils. Proceedings of Ixodida: Ixodidae), a parasite of the the Royal Society of South Australia gidgee skink Egernia stokesii (Reptilia: 117, 77-85. Scincidae) from South Australia. Systematic 34, 1-9. Niedbala W. 1987. Phthiracaroidea (Acari, Oribatida) noveaux d'Australie. Knihinicki D.K. & Boczek J. 2002. New Redia 70, 301-375. eriophyoid mites (Acari: Eriophyoidea) from Australia. International Journal of Niedbala W. & Colloff M.J. 1997. Acarology 28, 241-249. Euptyctime oribatid mites from Australasian Arachnology No. 77 Page 15

Tasmanian rainforest (Acari: Australia and New Zealand. Oribatida). Journal of Natural History Systematic Entomology 22, 151-171. 31, 489-538. Rainbow W.J. 1906. A synopsis of Otto J.C. 1994. New species of Australian Acarina. Records of the Halacaridae from Australia (Acarina : Australian Museum 6, 145-193. Prostigmata). Acarologia 35, 31-48. Roberts F.H.S. 1960. A systematic study Otto J.C. 1999a. Revision of the genus of the Australian species of the genus Erythracarus Berlese (Acarina: Ixodes (Acarina: Ixodidae). Australian Anystidae: Erythracarinae). Journal of Journal of Zoology 8, 392-485. Natural History 33, 825-909. Roberts F.H.S. 1970. Australian Ticks. Otto J.C. 1999b. Systematics and natural CSIRO, Melbourne. 267 pp. history of the genus Chaussieria Oudemans (Acarina: Prostigmata: Schicha E. 1987. Phytoseiidae of Anystidae). Zoological Journal of the Australia and Neighbouring Areas. Linnean Society 126, 251-306. Indira Publishing House, Oak Park, Michigan, USA. 187 pp. Otto J.C. 1999c. The taxonomy of Schicha E. & Corpuz-Raros L.A. 1992. Tarsotomus Berlese and Phytoseiidae of the Philippines. Indira Paratarsotomus Kuzntezov (Acarina: Publishing House, West Bloomfield, Anystidae: Erythracarinae) with Michigan, USA, 190 pp. observations on the natural history of Tarsotomus. Invertebrate Taxonomy Schuster R. & Murphy P.W. (Eds.). 13, 749-803. 1991. The Acari. Reproduction, Otto J.C. 1999d. Halacarid fauna of the Development and Life-History Strategies. Chapman and Hall, Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea: The genera Agauopsis and Halacaropsis London. 554 pp. (Acarina: Halacaridae). Memoirs of the Seeman O.D. & Nahrung H.F. 2005. New Queensland Musuem 43, 797-817. Parobia (Acari: Podapolipidae) parasitic on pestiferous paropsine Qin T.K. & Halliday R.B. 1996a. Revision beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) of the Australian and South African in eucalypt plantations. Systematic species of Halotydeus (Acarina: and Applied Acarology 10, 111-135. Penthaleidae). Bulletin of Ento- mological Research 86, 441-450. Southcott R.V. 1961. Studies on the systematics and biology of the Qin T.K. & Halliday R.B. 1996b. The Erythraeoidea (Acarina), with a critical Australian species of Chromotydaeus revision of the genera and subfamilies. Berlese and Penthaleus C.L. Koch Australian Journal of Zoology 9, 367- (Acarina: Penthaleidae). Journal of 610. Natural History 30, 1833-1848. Southcott R.V. 1964. Obituary and Qin T.K. & Halliday R.B. 1997. bibliography of Herbert Womersley. Eriorhynchidae, a new family of Records of the South Australian Prostigmata (Acarina), with a cladistic Museum 14, 603-632. analysis of eupodoid species from Australasian Arachnology No. 77 Page 16

Southcott R.V. 1976. Arachnidism and n. g., n. sp. (Acari: Mesostigmata: allied syndromes in the Australian Trigynaspida: Saltiseiidae, n. fam.) region. Records of the Adelaide from Australia. International Journal of Children's Hospital 1, 97-186. Acarology 26, 25-31. Southcott R.V. 1982. Australia. In History Walter D.E. 2006. Invasive Mite of Acarology. (Prasad V., ed.). Indira Identification: Tools for Quarantine Publishing, Oak Park, Michigan, pp. 1- and Plant Protection. Worldwide web 51. document at http://www.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/mit Southcott R.V. 1986. Studies on the es/Invasive_Mite_Identification/key/W taxonomy and biology of the subfamily hole_site/Home_whole_key.html (date Trombidiinae (Acarina : Trombidiidae) of access 13 January 2007). with a critical revision of the genera. Australian Journal of Zoology Walter D.E. & Gerson U. 1998. Supplementary Series 123, 1-116. Dasythyreidae, new family, and Xanthodasythyreus n. g. (Acari: Southcott R.V. 1994. Revision of the Prostigmata: ) from larvae of the Microtrombidiinae Australia. International Journal of (Acarina: Microtrombidiidae), with Acarology 24, 189-197. notes on life histories. Zoologica 48 (2), 1-155. Walter D.E. & Krantz G.W. 1999. New early derivative mesostigmatans from Wallace M.M.H. 1986. Some macrochelid Australia: Nothogynus n. g., mites (Acari: Macrochelidae) Nothogynidae n. fam. (Mesostigmata: associated with Australian dung Microgyniina). International Journal of beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Acarology 25, 67-76. Acarologia 27, 3-15. Walter D.E. & Proctor H.C. 1998. Wallace M.M.H. & Mahon J.A. 1973. The Feeding behaviour and phylogeny: taxonomy and biology of Australian observations on early derivative Acari. Bdellidae (Acari). I. Subfamilies Experimental and Applied Acarology Bdellinae, Spinibdellinae and Cytinae. 22, 39-50. Acarologia 14, 544-580. Walter D.E. & Proctor H.C. 1999. Mites. Wallace M.M.H. & Mahon J.A. 1976. The Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour. taxonomy and biology of Australian University of New South Wales Press, Bdellidae (Acari). II. Subfamily Sydney. 322 pp. Odontoscrinae. Acarologia 18, 65-123. Walter D.E., Seeman O., Rodgers D. & Walter D.E. 1997. Heatherellidae - a new Kitching R.L. 1998. Mites in the mist: family of Mesostigmata (Acari: how unique is a rainforest canopy- Parasitiformes) based on two new knockdown fauna? Australian Journal species from rainforest litter in of Ecology 23, 501-508. Australia. International Journal of Acarology 23, 167-175. Wrensch D.L. & Ebbert M.A. (Eds.). 1993. Evolution and Diversity of Sex Walter D.E. 2000. A jumping Ratio in Insects and Mites. Chapman mesostigmatan mite, Saltiseius hunteri Australasian Arachnology No. 77 Page 17

and Hall, New York and London. 630 ecosystem function. Riparian zones are pp. critical for the health of waterways and adjacent ecosystems; woody weed invasions in this zone may affect both habitat structure and plant species composition. In turn, these changes may ------affect prey and habitat availability for important groups of higher-order consumers, like spiders and birds, resulting in changes in abundance and HONOURS THESIS species richness. Spiders are increasingly ABSTRACT being utilised in ecological impact studies; they are useful due to their specialisation, group complexity and ease of sampling.

Willow (Salix x rubens) In this study, I (Fig. 1) examined the impact of willow invasion (Basket willow, invasions: impacts on riparian Salix x rubens) on spider assemblages spiders along the Tarago River in West Gippsland, Victoria. Willow-invaded sites Patrick McCormick (Fig. 2) were compared to sites with intact Department of Biological native vegetation (Fig. 3). Plant species Monash University, Clayton, Victoria. composition, habitat structure, and [email protected] resource availability were determined. Spiders, and their potential prey, were Supervisors: Dennis O’Dowd, Sam sampled using pitfall traps (“terricolous”), Lake branchlet samples of woody vegetation (“arboreal”), and sticky traps suspended in vegetation (“aerial invertebrates”). Visual surveys were used to census web- weaving spiders and their web forms.

Fig. 1: Pat checking a pitfall trap.

Biological invasions are increasingly Fig. 2: Willow infested site at the Tarago seen as a major factor in human-induced River, West Gippsland, Victoria. global change, affecting biodiversity and Australasian Arachnology No. 77 Page 18

Not surprisingly, plant species composition was distinctively different between willow-invaded and native sites. Willow-invaded sites appeared structurally simpler, with less leaf litter, less large woody debris (logs and stumps) and a lower canopy height than native sites. Prey resources had differing trends: no significant impact on aerial invertebrates, while willow-invasion negatively impacted arboreal invertebrates – decreasing abundance and altering ordinal composition. 17th International Congress of Arachnology São Pedro, São Paulo (Brazil)

5-10 August 2007 http://www.ib.usp.br/~ricrocha/ISA17/ISA17.htm

Fig. 3: Native vegetation at the Tarago River, West Gippsland, Victoria. Arboreal spiders were only present in native sites, while terricolous spider and web abundance increased significantly between months. Willow invasion affected the spider assemblage through habitat simplification and alteration of prey resources. While native sites favoured arboreal hunting spiders, willow-invaded sites favoured an increase in vertical orb- weavers. Willow invasion significantly alters overall spider composition.

Australasian Arachnology No. 77 Page 19

Recent Australasian decoration building influence antipredator responses in an orb-web Arachnological spider () in its Publications natural habitat? Australian Journal of Zoology 55, 1-7. This column aims to collate arachnological publications that were Chami-Kranon, T. & Ono, H. 2007. On issued (but not yet those ‘in press’) since Vietnamese representatives of the ant the last volume of Australasian spider genus Heradion (Araneae: Arachnology. These include: Zodariidae). Zootaxa 1395, 59-68.

Chami-Kranon, T., Likhitrakarn, N. & Ø papers on Australasian Dankittipakul, P. 2007. Allagelena arachnology and monticola sp. n. (Araneae: Ø papers written by Australasian ), a new species of funnel- arachnologists (including non- web spiders from northern Thailand. papers). Zootaxa 1397, 47-53. I am particularly interested in listing Chami-Kranon, T., Likhitrakarn, N. & entries of publications that are not easily Wongsawad, C. 2007. Utivarachna traceable through the common library rama sp. n., a new species of search engines, including theses and tracheline spiders (Araneae: abstracts of theses. Please send me Corinnidae) from Thailand. Zootaxa information on your latest publications for 1446, 59-68. the next issue. Chen, S.H. 2007. Spiders of the genus

Hersilia from Taiwan (Araneidae: Allen, G.R., Seeman, O.D., Schmid- Hersiliidae). Zoological Studies 46, 12- Hempel, P. & Buttermore, R.E. 2007. 25. Low parasite loads accompany the Cheng, L., Yang, C.M., Li, D. & Liu, H.M. invading population of the bumblebee, 2006. Aquatic Heteroptera (Insecta: Bombus terrestris in Tasmania. Gerromorpha and Nepomorpha) from Insectes Sociaux 54, 56-63. Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China. Bartsch, I. 2007. Halacarid mites (Acari: Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 54, 203- Halacaridae) from Esperance 214. (Western Australia), description of two Clements, R., Koh, L.P., Lee, T.M., new Copidognathus species. Zootaxa Meier, R. & Li, D. 2006. Importance of 1435, 41-49. reservoirs for the conservation of Beavis A.S., Rowell D.M. & Evans T. freshwater molluscs in a tropical urban 2006. Tolerance and kin recognition in landscape. Biological Conservation Delena cancerides, a social huntsman 128, 136-146. spider. Journal of Zoology, London Cokendolpher, J.C., & Taylor, C.K. 271, 233-237. 2007. Monoscutidae Forster, 1948. In Blamires, S.J., Hochuli, D.F. & Harvestmen: The Biology of . Thompson, M.B. 2007. Does (Pinto-da-Rocha, R., Machado, G. & Giribet, G., eds.). Harvard University Australasian Arachnology No. 77 Page 20

Press: Cambridge, London, pp. 118- spiders (Araneae: Salticidae). Journal 121 of Comparative Physiology A 192, 871-878. Du, N., Liu, X.Y., Narayanan, J., Li, L., Lim, M.L.M. & Li, D. 2006. Design of Lim, M.L.M. & Li, D. 2006. Extreme superior : from ultraviolet sexual dimorphism in nanostructure to mechanical jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae). properties. Biophysical Journal 91, Biological Journal of the Linnean 4528-4535. Society 89, 397-406. Framenau, V.V. 2007. Revision of the Lim, M.L.M. & Li, D. 2007. Effects of age new Australian genus Artoriopsis in a and feeding history on structure-based new subfamily of wolf spiders, ornaments of a jumping spider. Artoriinae (Araneae: Lycosidae). Proceedings of the Royal Society of Zootaxa 1391, 1-34. London B 274, 569-575. Gaskett, A. C. 2007. Spider sex Lim, M.L.M., Land, M.F. & Li, D. 2007. pheromones: emission, reception, Sex-specific UV and fluorescence structures, and functions. Biological signals in jumping spiders. Science Reviews 82, 27-48. 315, 481. Huang, W.D., Lin, Z., Sin, Y.M., Li, D., Mansfield S., Dillon M.L. & Whitehouse Gong, Z.Y. & Yang, D.W. 2006. M.E.A. 2006. Are Identification and characterization of a communities in cotton really novel spider cDNA, TuSp1, encoding a disrupted? An assessment of silk protein involved in spider egg sac insecticide regimes and evaluation of formation. Biochimie 88, 849-858. the beneficial disruption index. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Kasumovic, M. M., Bruce, M.J., Environment 113, 326-335. Herberstein, M.E. & Andrade, M.C.B. 2007. Risky mate search and mate Nelson, X.J., Jackson, R.R. & Li, D. preference in the golden orb-web 2006. Conditional use of honest spider (Nephila plumipes). Behavioral signaling by a Batesian mimic. Ecology 18, 189-195. Behavoral Ecology 17, 575-580. Klompen, H. & Austin, C.C. 2007. A new Nelson, X.J., Jackson, R.R., Li, D., species of Ophiomegistus Banks Barrion, A.T. & Edwards, G.B. 2006. (Acari: Paramegistidae) from Papua Innate aversion to ants (Hymenoptera: New Guinea Zootaxa 1387, 47-57. Formicidae) and ant mimics: experimental findings from mantises Li, D. & Kuan, J.Y.X. 2006. Natal (Mantodea). Biological Journal of dispersal and breeding dispersal in a Linnean Society 88, 23-32. spitting spider, Scytodes pallida (Araneae: Scytodidae), from Nelson, X.J., Li, D. & Jackson, R.R. Singapore. Journal of Zoology, 2006. Out of the frying pan and into London 268, 121-126. the fire: a novel trade-off for Batesian mimics. 112, 270-277. Lim, M.L.M. & Li, D. 2006. Behavioural evidence of UV sensitivity in jumping Australasian Arachnology No. 77 Page 21

Opell, B.D., Berger, A.M., Bous, S.M. & Taylor, P.W., Roberts, J.A. & Uetz, G.W. Manning, M.L. 2007. Genetic 2006. Compensation for injury? Multi- relationships of Amaurobioides modal courtship of wolf spiders (Anyphaenidae) spiders from the following loss of signaling southeastern coast of New Zealand. appendages. Ethology Ecology and Zootaxa 1425, 1-10. Evolution 18, 79-89. Pesic, V. & Smit, H. 2007. Water mite Whitehouse M.E.A., Wilson L.J & species of the genus Hydrodroma Constable G. 2007. Target and non- Koch (Acari: , target effects on the invertebrate Hydrodromidae) from Australasia. Part community of Vip cotton, a new I. Zootaxa 1389, 31-44 insecticidal transgenic. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 58, Rao, D., Cheng, K. & Herberstein, M.E. 273-285. 2007. A natural history of web decorations in the St Andrew's Cross Zhang, J.X., Woon, J.R.W. & Li, D. 2006. spider (Argiope keyserlingi). Australian A new genus and species of jumping Journal of Zoology 55, 9-14. spiders (Araneae: Salticidae: Spartaeinae) from Malaysia. Raffles Roberts, J.A., Galbraith, E., Milliser, J., Bulletin of Zoology 54, 241-244. Taylor, P.W. & Uetz, G.W. 2006. Absence of social facilitation of courtship in the , Schizocosa ocreata (Hentz) (Araneae: Lycosidae). Acta Ethologica 9, 71-77 Roberts, J.A., Taylor, P.W. & Uetz, G.W. 2007. Consequences of complex courtship display: Predator detection of multi-modal signaling. 18: 236-240. Seeman, O.D. 2007. A new species of Paradiplogynium (Acari: Diplo- gyniidae) from Titanolabis colossea (Dohrn) (Dermaptera: ), Australia’s largest . Zootaxa 1386, 31-38. Su, K.F.L. & Li, D. 2006. Female-biased predation risk and its differential effect on the male and female courtship behaviour of jumping spiders. Animal Behaviour 71, 531-537. Symkowiak, P. 2007. Redescription of Australian crab spider Diaea pulleinei Rainbow, 1915 (Araneae: Thomisidae). Zootaxa 1425, 11-20. Australasian Arachnology No. 77 Page 22

Conferences:

Invertebrate Biodiversity and

Conservation Conference 2007 Joint annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE), the Pacific Priorities Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB), Brisbane, Australia, 3-7 December 2007 and the American Society of Naturalists (ASN) http://www.ibcc2007.org

Christchurch, New Zealand, 16-20 June 2007 The Entomological Society of Southern Africa hosts the http://www.evolution2007.com/index.htm XXII International Congress of Entomology at the International Australasian Evolution Society Convention Centre in Durban, South th 5 Conference Africa from 6-11 July 2008. The University of New South Wales, http://www.ice2008.org.za Sydney, 12-15 June 2007 http://aes.eriophora.com.au/events/AES07.htm

Australasian Arachnology Issue 77 April 2007

Contents

Editorial………………………………………………………. 3 Membership Updates/ Change of Addresses…………. 3 Feature Article: Mites are arachnids too by Bruce Halliday……….……………………...………… 4 Thesis Abstract (Honours): Willow (Salix x rubens) invasions: impact on riparian spiders by Patrick McCormick………………………….....…….. 17 Recent Australasian Arachnological Publications………. 19 Conference Announcements……………………………… 22