Abstract: Xysticus ephippiatus Simon is one of important predatory enemies in tea plantation. The predation of penultimate-instar X. ephippiatus on 3-day-old larval of tea loopers (late first- and early second-instar) Ectropis obliqua Prout was studied under different temperatures in order to investigate the control efficiency on the tea looper. The results showed that all the functional responses could be described with Holling II equation under the three different temperatures. At the same temperature, the predation capacity of X. ephippiatus on tea loopers increased with the increasing density of the prey. The maximal predation of female was 68 individuals/d at 25℃and 30℃. The maximal predation of male was 67 individuals/d at 30℃. When the temperature and the density of the prey were same, the predation was no difference between female and male. But the temperature could affect the predation.

Key words: Xysticus ephippiatus Simon, Ectropis obliqua Prout, functional response