Jonas Merckx

Mites of the genus Thyreophagus (Acari: Acaridae) are distributed worldwide; they inhabit concealed habitats and include several beneficial and economically important species. However, species identification is difficult because many species are poorly described or delimited and their phoretic stages are unknown or uncorrelated. Furthermore, Thyreo...

This study provides five new records of phytoseiid mites; Amblyseius herbicolus, Neoseiulus reductus, Kampimodromus corylosus, Paraseiulus triporus and Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) rhenanoides for the Belgian fauna. In the study, additional morphological information and new illustrations for the new records as well as an identification key for the Bel...

BACKGROUND The tomato russet mite (TRM), Aculops lycopersici, and powdery mildew (PM), Oidium neolycopersici, are two major problems in tomato cultivation for which no effective biocontrol solutions exist to date. In a greenhouse compartment, we investigated the potential of preventatively establishing the iolinid omnivorous mite Pronematus ubiquit...

Phytoseiid predatory mites are the most important group of biocontrol agents currently used in protected cultivations worldwide. The possibility to produce these predators at high densities on factitious prey mites is a crucial factor for their success. Commonly used factitious prey mites comprise mainly species belonging to the cohort of Astigmati...

The diverse biotopes in the current domain of Park Abbey exist for centuries. Yet little is known about their biodiversity. In this report we present the results from a yearlong survey on carabids, ants and hoverflies with pitfall and Malaise traps. Additionally, we sampled land and freshwater gastropods, carrion and water beetles, moths and vegeta...

To date, some species in the genus Thyreophagus, such as Th. entomophagus and Th. cracentiseta, have been shown to be useful factitious prey for mass-rearing of predacious phytoseiid mites, one of the most common groups of mites used for biological control. Here, we describe a new species, Thyreophagus plocepasseri sp. n. from Kenya that can serve...

Phytoseiid predatory mites are the most important group of biocontrol agents currently implemented in protected cultivations worldwide. The possibility to produce these predators at high densities on factitious prey mites is a crucial factor for their success. Commonly used factitious prey mites comprise mainly species belonging to the cohort of As...

The digitization of museum specimens is a key priority in the Digital Era. Digital databases help to avoid unnecessary manipulation hazards to delicate collections, increase their accessibility to third party researchers, and contribute to the ongoing documentation of global biodiversity. Time, workforce and the need of specialized infrastructures...

Digitization of specimen collections has become a key priority of many natural history museums. The camera systems built for this purpose are expensive, providing a barrier in institutes with limited funding, and therefore hampering progress. An assessment is made on whether a low cost compact camera with image stacking functionality can help exped...