Abstract
Astudy was conducted in 2008–2009 to explore the predatory mite fauna from different agri-horticultural crops and weeds in the Gangetic plains ofWest Bengal. A total of 31 species belonging to nine genera, seven families and two orders were identified; they are listed along with their prey, period of occurrence and the plant habitats in which they were recorded. The most frequently collected specieswere the phytoseiids Amblyseius largoensis (Muma) and Neoseiulus longispinosus (Evans), the stigmaeids Agistemus spp. and the anystidWalzia indiana Smith-Meyer&Ueckermann.Given the frequencywithwhich these mites were found, they can be considered potentially useful in suppressing the associated prey mites. The phytoseiids Paraphytoseius multidentatus Swirski & Schechter, Euseius ovalis (Evans), Euseius coccineae (Gupta), Neoseiulus fallacis (Garman) and the cheyletid Cheletogenes ornatus (Canestrini&Fanzago) were less frequently found and less abundant, implying that their impact on prey population is less important. The remaining species were rare.