The biology of Neoseiulus barkeri (Hughes), Typhlodromus balanites El-Badry and Amblyseius zaheri Yousef & El-Borolossy was studied using Ephestia kuehniella Zeller eggs as food source. For N. barkeri, the development was faster and reproduction was higher than for A. zaheri. Survival of immatures of T. balanites was low on eggs of E. kuehniella and all failed to develop to adulthood. A total of 50.4 and 41.0 eggs per female were obtained when N. barkeri and A. zaheri were fed on moth eggs, respectively. A diet of E. kuehniella eggs provided the highest female longevity and mean total fecundity, which resulted in the highest net reproductive rate (Ro = 32.88), intrinsic rate of natural increase (rm = 0.139) and finite rate of increase (λ = 1.149) for N. barkeri. The mean generation time ranged between 24.65 and 25.03 days for A. zaheri and N. barkeri, respectively. The sex ratio of the progeny was strongly female biased (female/total = 0.69 and 0.58) when eggs of E. kuehniella were provided for N. barkeri and A. zaheri.

Laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of diet on the biology and prédation capacity of the phytoseiid mite Amblyseius zaheri Yousef & El-Brolossy. The predatory mite was able to develop and reproduce when fed on nymphs of the twospotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch, nymphs of the citrus brown mite Eutetranychus orientalis Klein, motile stages of the eriophyid mite Eriophyes dioscoridis Soliman & Abou-Awad, eggs of the scale insect Parlatorio ziziphus Lucas, nymphs of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Genn.) and pollen grains of date palm, Phoenix dactylifera. The predatory mite's development was fastest on a diet of nymphs of Er. dioscoridis. All of the diets led to a female-biased progeny, which was most pronounced in predators fed on date palm pollen. The results are discussed in light of the biological control capacity of the phytoseiid mite.