Abstract: 【Aim】 The predation ability of Neoseiulus bicaudus depends on its movement rate. This study analyzed the effect of five host plants on the movement rate of N. bicaudus in order to explore the predation ability of N. bicaudus to Tetranychus turkestani on different host plants. 【Methods】 The movement rates of female adults of N. bicaudus on five host plants including green bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), eggplant (Solanum melongena) and cucumber (Cucumis sativus) were recorded by digital image processing technology, and the effects of host plants on the predating functional response of N. bicaudus were compared by direct observation. 【Results】 The movement rates of N. bicaudus on the fivehost plants ranked in the descending order as green bean (0.62 cm/s) and cotton (0.60 cm/s)>cucumber (0.38 cm/s) and eggplant (0.36 cm/s)>tomato (0.27 cm/s). Further study on predating functional responses of N. bicaudus on the five host plants indicated that the prey consumption increased as the prey density increased until it reached a plateau where the consumption rate remained constant, exhibiting a Holling type II response. The attack rate (a) of N. bicaudus against T. turkestani on green bean (1.124) was the highest. The handling time (T_h) on cotton (0.059) was the shortest. The predation abilities of N. bicaudus on green bean and cotton were strong, with the a/T_h values of 18.177 and 16.763, respectively, while those on tomato, eggplant and cucumber were weak, with the a/T_h values of 6.780, 6.537 and 6.369, respectively. 【Conclusion】 On green bean and cotton, the movement rates of N. bicaudus are the fastest and its predation ability is the strongest.

Key words: Neoseiulus bicaudus, Tetranychus turkestani; host plants, movement rate, predating functional response