ABSTRACT
Mantises or praying mantises are found in many warmer parts of the world, especially in the tropics, where they act as indiscriminate predators of insects and other invertebrates. Well-known predatory insects, particularly as adults but also as aquatic nymphs, dragonflies, including damselflies, are essentially opportunist feeders. Dun-bar moth larvae thus classify as beneficial predators and may be found as such in managed woodlands, orchards, parks and, sometimes, private gardens. In some parts of the world, but not in Europe, carnivorous lepidopteran larvae may initially act as ectoparasites before adopting a predatory lifestyle. Hosts of parasites/predators are mainly hemipterans, especially plant hoppers. Mites occupy many ecological niches and, as degraders of organic matter, they are a key component of the natural soil fauna. Mites are also important, either as pests of cultivated plants or as predators. The predators feed mainly on the eggs and juvenile stages of other mites, rhabditid nematodes and springtails.
