Mendel, Z., & Gerson, U. 1982 Is the mite Lorryia formosa Cooreman (Prostigmata: Tydeidae) a sanitizing agent in citrus groves?. Acta Oecologica, Oecologia Applicata 3(1): 47-51.

Notes: Two adjacent orange groves, both heavily infested by the Mediterranean black scale, Saissetia oleae (Olivier), were differently contaminated by sooty mold fungi. They also carried different populations of the mite Lorryia formosa, the less-contaminated grove having much larger numbers of mites. Results of an exclusion experiment with an acaricide showed that sooty mold contamination increased when the mites were eliminated. L. formosa is known to feed on scale-excreted honeydew and on sooty mold, and has been suspected of injurying citrus trees. It is suggested that the mite, at least in Israel, is not a pest, but actually fulfils a sanitizing function in citrus groves.