Abstract
The diversity of phytoseiid mite communities was experimentally investigated on uncultivated and cultivated lands. Ninety four plants were sampled three times a year over five years (1999-2003) and traps were filtered once a week over the same five-year period, from April to September. Thirty-seven phytoseiid mite species were found, five for the first time ever in France. Seventy-six of the 94 plants sampled bore phytoseiid mites. The most abundant species were, by order of density: Typhlodromus (Typhlodromus) phialatus, Kampimodromus aberrans and Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) recki. The plants mostly highly colonised by phytoseiid mites were: Celtis australis, Quercus ilex, Rubus sp., Q. coccifera, and Ulmus sp. The diversity of phytoseiid mites in uncultivated areas seems to be linked to plant diversity