PEST CONTROL BY MITES (ACARI): PRESENT AND FUTURE Uri G Gerson, U. Acarologia 2014 2014-12-19 54 4 371 394 LK6 [361,432,905,929] Insecta Achilidae Abas Animalia Hemiptera 10 383 Arthropoda genus  Berndt et al. (2004) estimated the predatory capacity of  S. scimitusand  G. aculeifer(known in commerce as  Hypoaspis), which feed on the soilinhabiting molting stages of WFT. The latter, which was the better predator, had significantly more eggs, reproduced faster and raised larger populations. The authors concluded that  G. aculeifercould control thrips populations with a release of 520 individuals/ square meter. Their efficacy is due to the fact that they inhabit the same soil strata; the presence of other prey (e.g. nematodes, Collembola) may however detract from their controlling effect ( Wiethoff et al.2004). Another soil-borne predator,  Lasioseius fimetorumBerlese (Ascidae), was compared by Enkegaard and BrØdsgaard (2000)with  S. scimitus. The former developed faster and had more progeny on thrips prey. Large populations of  G. aculeiferwere associated with fewer numbers of the pest thrips  Pezothrips kellyanus(Bagnall), which molts in the soil, and with less damage to citrus fruit. Adding composting manure to the soil was advocated by Navarro- Camposa et al. (2012) as a means of increasing mite numbers, thereby promoting the pest’s control. Species of  Gaeolaelapsand of  Stratiolaelapsfeed on eggs and larvae of corn rootworm in the soil. Prischmann et al. (2011a)concluded that although they do not seriously reduce pest numbers, they may regulate immature rootworm populations. Qualitative and quantitative methods for monitoring ABA feeding in the soil are discussed below. Plants may affect ABAsthrough their symbiotic associations with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and/or rhizobacteria. The growth rate of  P. persimiliswas enhanced when feeding on TSSM infesting these plants ( Hoffmann et al.2011). Further, mycorrhyzal bean plants infested by TSSM attracted more predators than non-mycorrhyzal beans ( Schausberger et al.2012). These results were obtained with plants grown in pots; their validity in the field remains to be determined. More  P. persimilsoccurred on cucumbers treated with plant growth promoting rhizobacteria than on untreated plants, and more prey (TSSM) were located thereon by the predator ( Tomczyk and Burda 2005).