Spit it out: extraction of saliva from the lychee erinose mite (Aceria litchi (Keifer) Acari: Eriophyidae)

The Lychee Erinosd Mite (LEM)(Aceria litchii (Keifer)) is a gall-making eriophyd thot feeds esclusively on lychee trees (Litchi chinensis Sonnerat), inducing the development of open leaf galls called erinea. Presently, no information is available on the mechanism of induction of erinea by the LEM. To test the hypothesis that the saliva of eriopyoid mites would alter the host plant physiology leading to local malformations, we collected saliva of the LEM. Twenty-five vegetable oils and eleven immersion oils were tested duringf the study and data were collected on the mortality and proprotion of mites producing saliva in each oil medium at 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes after exposure. The oil type did not affect the proportion of mites secreting saliva droplets.