The history of biological control of harmful organisms by mites is marked by outstanding achievements with a few premiere natural enemies. Early works concentrated on the use of predatory mites for the control of synanthropic flies, More recently, the focus has been mostly on mites of the family Phytoseiidae for the control of plant feeding mites. This is an important family of acarine predators of plant pest mites, which are effectively used in agriculture worldwide. Besides the vast knowledge in several species in this family, there are as well many opportunities for biological control, represented in an array of organisms and through the improvement of management techniques, which are constantly explored by researchers worldwide. This has resulted in an increasing interest in predatory mite species within the families Stigmaeidae, Ascidae, Laelapidae, Rhodacaroidea, Macrochelidae, Erythraeidae and Cheyletidae, among others. This book will compile important developments with predatory mite species within these families, which are emerging as important tools for integrated pest management. New developments with predatory insects and pathogenic organisms attacking mites will also be a subject of this book. Finally, the potential and gaps in knowledge in biological control of acarine plant pests will be addressed.

Resources for biological control of plant feeding mites, small insects and flies Long-term investigations on the practical use of predatory mites targeting pest mites are documented Updated evaluation of the gaps in the development of new biological control agents Comprehensive and updated analyses of the potential of several groups of potential biological control agents of mites and some small harmful insects

Inhalt

1. Mesostigmata as Biological Control Agents, with Emphasis on Rhodacaroidea and Parasitoidea.- 2. Potential of Ascidae, Blattisociidae and Melicharidae (Acari: Mesostigmata) as biological control agents of pest organisms.- 3. The potential of free-living Laelapid mites (Mesostigmata: Laelapidae) as biological control agents.- 4. Macrochelid Mites (Mesostigmata: Macrochelidae) as Biological Control Agents.- 5. The Phytoseiidae (Acari: Mesostigmata) as biological control agentes.- 6. Prostigmata (Acari: Trombidiformes) as biological control agentes.- 7. Stigmaeidae.- 8. The Erythraeoidea (Trombidiformes: Prostigmata) as biological control agents, with special reference to the genus Balaustium.- 9. The Cheyletoidea (Prostigmata), with special reference to the potential of Cheyletus malaccensis Oudemans as biological control agent of post-harvest pests.- 10. Food Web Engineering to Enhance Biological Control of Tetranychus urticae by Phytoseiid Mites (Tetranychidae: Phytoseiidae) in Citrus.- 11. Past, Present and Future: Biological Control of Spider Mites on California-grown avocados.- 12. Mite Pathogens and their use in Biological Control.