Soil-dwelling predatory mites are natural enemies of various soil pest insects and mites. Both Gaeolaelaps aculeifer (Canestrini) and Stratiolaelaps scimitus (Womersley) are commercialized natural enemies of thrips, but there is little information on the predation rate of these predatory mites on different thrips species. We compared their predation capacities on three thrips species, Frankliniella occidentalis, F. intonsa, and Thrips palmi, which are major pests of various horticultural plants. The predatory rate of G. aculeifer was higher than that of S. scimitus. Both predator species fed on more T. palmi thrips than F. occidentalis or F. intonsa thrips, which may be attributable to the smaller body size of T. palmi than the other thrips. Predation rates of female adults were 2.6–2.8 times higher than those of deutonymphs in both species. Predation rates were not separated according to the various developmental stages (i.e., second instar larva, pupa, or adult) of thrips; however, deutonymphs fed on fewer adults than larvae or pupae of F. occidentalis. Our results suggest that both G. aculeifer and S. scimitus are active predators that can prey during any of their developmental stages and on any species of thrips tested.

居住在土壤中的掠食性螨虫是各种土壤害虫和螨虫的天敌。无论Gaeolaelaps aculeifer（Canestrini）和Stratiolaelaps scimitus（沃默斯利）的商业化蓟马的天敌，但对这些捕食螨对不同蓟马种类的捕食率的资料很少。我们比较了它们在三种蓟马种类上的捕食能力，这些蓟马种类为Frankliniella occidentalis，F。intonsa和Thrips palmi，它们是各种园艺植物的主要害虫。的捕食率G. aculeifer比的更高S. scimitus。两种捕食者的食性均高于棕榈西蓟马（F. occidentalis）或F. intonsa蓟马，这可以归因于的体型较小棕榈蓟马比其他蓟马。在这两个物种中，成年女性的捕食率均比地名亚种的捕食率高2.6-2.8倍。没有根据蓟马的不同发育阶段（即第二龄幼虫，或成虫）来区分捕食率。然而，进料在除的幼虫或蛹成虫更少deutonymphs西花蓟马。我们的研究结果表明，小球藻和弯刀都是活跃的捕食者，可以在其任何发育阶段和被测蓟马的任何种类上捕食。