Predator

Prey

General Predators and Parasites

Syrphid flies (Syrphidae family)

Prey upon aphids, leafhoppers, and mealybugs.

Predatory mites (Phytoseiidae family)

Prey on all types of mites.

Lacewings (Chrysopidae family)

Prey upon aphids, mealybugs, scale, whiteflies, mites, other lacewings, and the eggs of mites, thrips, and other insects.

Predator

Prey

Chalcid wasps (Chalcidoidea superfamily)

Parasites of aphids, scale, whiteflies, (Chalcidoidea) and mealybugs.

Spiders (Arachnida order)

Prey on anything that gets stuck in their webs.

Tachinid flies (Tachinidae family)

Parasites of many grasshoppers, beetles, sawflies, caterpillars, and true bugs.

(Trichogrammatidae family)

Parasites of the eggs of moths and butterflies.

Bee flies (Bombyliidae family)

Predators of locust eggs, parasites of the larvae of flies, wasps, bees, beetles, and ants.

Praying mantids (Manteodea family)

Eats any insect it catches, including beneficial ones.

Rove beetle (Staphylinidae family)

Aphid, springtail, nematode, flies; some are parasitic on cabbage-root maggot

Predator

Prey

Dragonflies (Odnata order)

Eat small fly including midges and mosquitoes.

Soldier beetles (Cantharidae family)

Feed on cutworms, gypsy moth larvae, snails, and slugs

Bigeyed Bugs
(Geocoris spp. of Lygaeid Family)
(lines represent actual size)

Many insects, including other bugs, flea beetles, spider mites, insect eggs and small caterpillars. Will also eat seeds.

Minute Pirate Bug
(Anthocorid Family, Orius spp.)

(line represents actual size)

Thrips, spider mite, leafhopper, corn earworm, small caterpillars, many other insects

Snakeflies (Raphidiidae and Inocelliidae families)

Eat small and weak insects

Other general predators include ichneumonids, assassin bugs, collops beetles, damsel bugs, earwigs (the endemic earwig, not the European earwig, which eats our young seedlings) ants, lygus bugs, anthicid beetles.

Predator

Prey

Species-specific Predators

Ladybird beetles or ladybugs (Coccinellidae family)

Eats aphids, mealybug and scale.

Braconid wasps (Braconidae family)

Parasitizes caterpillars. Some parasitize aphids.

Fly Parasites (Pteronalids family)

Muscicifurax raptor

Parasitizes fly larvae and pupae.

Predator

Prey

Species-specific Predators

Thick-headed flies (Conopidae family)

Parasites of bees and ants.

Predators and parasites of slugs and snails.

Mealybug predator (Coccinellidae family)

Cryptolaemus montnouzieri

Eats mealybugs above ground.

Whitefly predator (Aphelinidae family)

Encarsia formosa

Parasitizes whitefly pupae.

Black scale parasite (Encyrtidae family)

Metaphycus helvolus

Parasites of adult black scale.

Cottony cushion scale parasite (Cryptochaetidae family)

Cryptocheta iceryae

Parasitizes cottony cushion scale.

Grain moth parasite (Ptermalidae family)

Habrocytus sp.

Larval parasites of the grain moth.

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