Phytoseiidae

The Phytoseiidae are a family of mites which feed on thrips and other mite species. They are often used as a biological control agent for managing mite pests. Because of their usefulness as biological control agents, interest in phytoseiids has steadily increased over the past century. In 1950, there were 34 known species. Today, there are 2,731 documented species.
Subfamilies.
The family Phytoseiidae contains these subfamilies:
Lifestyles.
Phytoseiids are best known as predators of small arthropods and nematodes, but many species are also known to feed on fungi, plant exudates, and pollen.
Scientists have proposed classifications of the Phytoseiidae based on their food sources. In the most current version, developed in 2013, phytoseiids are grouped into four types.
Phytoseiidae as biological control agents.
Phytoseiids are an important natural predator of the spider mite. When phytoseiid populations decline, spider mites can severely damage commercial crops. Since World War II, spider mite (tetranychid) populations have
increased due to the use of synthetic pesticides. The reason pesticides have increased spider mite populations remains mysterious to scientists, but it has spurred an interest in phytoseiids as biological control agents. So far, research has shown that phytoseiids are effective control agents in both their native environments and open-field vegetable crops. 
Phytoseiid species that act as biological control agents are influenced by the availability of their prey. Phytoseiids can postpone or delay egg production during periods when prey are scarce. This allows them to have a longer lifespan and likely serves as an adaptation to environments where prey availability is variable. In addition to being able to delay reproduction, phytoseiids are also capable of rapid reproduction when prey is readily available. They reproduce more when
prey availability is high, which increases their effectiveness as biological control agents. When prey availability increases, females lay more eggs, and more healthy offspring are produced during reproductive periods. In addition, when prey availability increases, the Phytoseiidae kill more prey during reproductive cycles, and the ratio of prey killed to eggs laid increases.
"Wolbachia" infections.
"Wolbachia", a parasitic bacterial genus that affects a vast array of arthropod species such as "Drosophila simulans", is common in the Phytoseiidae. It affects gender determination and reproduction of its hosts, making it a powerful agent of evolution. "Wolbachia" species have been detected in many species of the Phytoseiidae, both in the field and in the lab. Although most research focuses on "Wolbachia" in germ line tissues, the bacteria can also be found in somatic tissues. "Wolbachia's" main method of spreading is to be passed down through the generations in germ line tissues, but it is also capable of being transferred horizontally.
Although "Wolbachia" bacteria do not benefit their hosts in any way, they are maintained in the population because infected mothers pass them to their offspring through the ovum. Over time, bacterial presence in a population can lead to complete reproductive isolation of that population from uninfected populations. "Wolbachia" causes speciation through reproductive isolation. Some hosts evolve with a dependency on "Wolbachia" for reproductive functions, so that individuals without "Wolbachia" infections have lower reproductive fitness.
"Wolbachia" influences the gender determination of its hosts, making females more common than males. In populations affected by "Wolbachia", females commonly compete for the right to mate with males. This is one of the ways in which "Wolbachia" infections can lead to speciation, because females evolve traits that allow them to better compete for males. In extreme cases, the feminizing effect of "Wolbachia" can cause the host species to lose the chromosome responsible for female gender. "Wolbachia" infections are capable of causing the extinction of hosts by making females much more common than males.