Barbar- Syrian Journal of Agricult ural Research 5 (1 ): 1 8 3 -1 9 0 . March 2 0 1 8 183 بر بر- ية ع بحوث الزرا ل ل سورية ل ل ا ال5 ( 1 ) : 190-183 ر/مارس ذا  . أ2018 New Records of Three Larval Species of Erythraeidae (Acari: Trombidiformes) in a Citrus Orchard in Latakia, Syria Ziad Barbar *(1) (1). Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Al-Baath University, Homs, Syria. (*Corresponding author: Dr. Ziad Barbar. E-Mail: ziadbarbar89@yahoo.com). Received: 04/11/2017 Accepted: 14/12/2017 Abstract Most larvae of Erythraeidae are considered as parasites of various insect species, and their adults seem to be effective generalist predators of several agricultural pests. Studies of this fauna is limited in Syria. The present study aimed to identify mite species of Erythraeidae in a pesticide-free citrus orchard in Latakia governorate/Syria. Surveys were carried out three times in 2016 and 2017. Three Erythraeid species were collected, and all belong to the genus Erythraeus: Erythraeus (Erythraeus) phalangoides, Erythraeus (Erythraeus) adanaensis and Erythraeus (Zaracarus) didonae. This is the first report of these species in Syria. Morphological remarks of each species were collected and provided. Keywords: Acari, Erythraeidae, Erythraeus, larva, Syria Introduction Recent advances in knowledge of mite fauna in Syrian agro-ecosystems are took place. Actually, the number of reported species from Syria increased from about 15 species in 2012 to more than 80 species in 2017 (Zriki et al., 2015; Barbar, 2016, 2017; Zeity, 2017; Barbar and Ueckermann, 2017), and more species still to be discovered. The family Erythraeidae presently comprises more than 300 nominal species (Gerson et al., 2009; Krantz and Walter, 2009). Most larvae of these mites are parasites of various arthropods, but adults have been shown to be effective generalist predators of several agricultural pests including insects and spider mites (Zhang, 2003; Gerson et al., 2009). The knowledge of this mite fauna in Syria is poor. Up to date, only two species belong to the genus Leptus Latreille associated with Tenebrionidae (Coleoptera) are known: Leptus horiacus Haitlinger and Leptus tammuzi Haitlinger (Haitlinger, 1994). The aim of the present work was to identify Erythaeid mite species which are existed in the environment of a citrus orchard in Latakia Governorate/Syria. Materials and Methods Erythaeidae mites were surveyed three times on several weed species, cultivated crops and from soil litter of a citrus lemon orchard [Citrus limon (L.) Burm] at Al-ya'robiyah (35° 30 ' 24''N ̸ 35° 48' 33'' E.) in Latakia Governorate/Syria, during 2016 and 2017. Collected mites were mounted on slides in Hoyer's medium, and dried in an oven at 40°C for one week. Mites were identified using keys proposed in the papers of Southcott (1961, 1995), Lafuente and Zhang (1998), Mahmoudi et al. (2014), and Šundić et al., (2015). Specimens were compared with original descriptions or re- descriptions of corresponding or related species. All measurements of morphological characters of collected specimens are given in micrometers (μm). The terminology and abbreviations follow Haitlinger (1999, 2013). The specimens were deposited in the Arthropod Collection of the Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Al-Baath University, Homs, Syria.