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.
