Life history studies first were conducted for the prey, the avocado brown mite Oligonychus punicae (Hirst), and the predators, the phytoseiid mite Typhlodromus floridanus (Muma) and coccinellid Stesborus picipes Casey, in an insectary chamber on excised Persea indica Spreng leaves. Both mite species developed at a faster mean rate than did S. picipes. A life table was constructed for each species from the life history data. Despite a shorter oviposition period than that of either predator, O. punicae not only laid more eggs/female per day, but also had a higher mean-age specific fecundity rate. The intrinsic rate of increase, r_m, was highest for O. punicae (0.222), followed by T. floridanus (0.159) and S. picipes (0.121).

In feeding tests, T. floridanus females indicated a significant preference for the egg stage of O. punicae. In contrast, females of S. picipes did not show a significant preference for a particular life stage of O. punicae. Assuming no problem whatever in finding prey (an inapplicable assumption for field situations), an arithmetic model was generated from the rm values, fecundity, and the prey consumption rate of T. floridanus. At an initial ratio of 10 prey to 1 predator, this model indicated that T. floridanus preying on O. punicae eggs could annihilate such a population of O. punicae within 13 days.