Saproglyphid hypopi (Acarina:Saproglyphidae) associated with wasps of the genus Zethus fabricius.

Twenty-eight new species of saproglyphid hypopi associated with wasps of the genus Zethus are described. One of these is described in Calvolia Oudemans, four in the new genus Macroharpa, six in the new genus Zethacants and seventeen in the new subgenus Vidia (Zethovidia). The taxonomie definitions of the genera and species are based only on characters of the hypopi. The setae and other sensory appendages of the tarsal segments, the pattern of furrows on the propodosomal plate, the placement of particular setae on dorsal shields and the ratios of distances sci-scifsci-sce are the most useful taxonomie features. The length relationships of metasternal setae and metasternum III, the solenidia wr and setae eta on tarsi I and II, and the tactile setae ts and the macrosetae ms of tibia III are also considered to have diagnostic value. Keys based on the hypopi are provided for the identification of genera in the family Saproglyphidae, for subgenera of Vidia, for species groups of the subgenus Vidia (Zethovidia) and for species of Vidia (Zethovidia), JVJacroharpa and Zethacants. The life history and ecology of the saproglyphid mites are discussed. The association between mites and insects, in general, is reviewed. The phyletic relationships between the saproglyphid hypopi are discussed in the light of the phylogeny of their wasp hasts. The restriction of the hypopi belonging to the subgenus Vidia (Zethovidia) to the most specialized subgenera Zethnsculus and Zethoides of the wasp genus Zethus, may suggest that these particular mites are more advanced than the other saproglyphid mites herein described.