Research and application of parasitic mites in biological control of pests

Parasitic mites exhibit high reproductive potential and can effectively regulate the population size of pests and harmful mites in nature, so they are frequently utilized as natural enemies in agricultural and forestry production. Trombidiidae and Pyemotidae families are the most significant parasitic mites. Trombidiid mites can inhibit the rapid growth of aphid populations at the early stage of occurrence and reduce aphid density. Pyemotes exhibit strong lethality and demonstrate remarkable efficacy against wood-boring pests, significantly reducing their damage to agricultural and forestry crops. This paper reviews fundamental and applied research on these parasitic mites both domestically and internationally, revealing that current foundational studies remain inadequate, with limited resources of beneficial parasitic mite species available for biological control purposes and unstable field control efficacy. Therefore, it is imperative to enhance the investigation and exploration of beneficial parasitic mite resources, with in-depth studies on the biological characteristics of known and newly discovered dominant species to elucidate their pest control mechanism. Additionally, efforts should focus on enhancing mass-rearing efficiency while reducing production costs. Novel technologies, such as molecular biology approaches, can be employed to enhance the field adaptability and parasitoid efficiency of these beneficial mites. This can support the use of parasitic mites to regulate the population numbers of pests and harmful mites, while offering more options for green pest control and integrated management.