<![CDATA[Background: Entomopathogenic fungi (EPFs) such as Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium spp. are widely used as biological control agents in integrated pest management (IPM), but their ecological risks to non-target predatory arthropods remain insufficiently understood; specifically, no quantitative synthesis has yet compared these effects across multiple exposure pathways and predator taxa simultaneously. Objective: This meta-analysis aimed to quantify and compare the lethal and sublethal effects of these two EPF species on predatory arthropods and to determine how exposure pathway and predator taxonomic group modulate the magnitude of ecological risk. Methods: Data were extracted from 27 laboratory studies published between 2015 and 2025, yielding 147 observations across more than 25 predator species representing six taxonomic orders (five with sufficient replication for pooled comparison). Effect sizes, expressed as log odds ratios and Hedges' g, were pooled using random-effects models, and mixed-effects moderator analyses compared EPF species, exposure pathway, and predator taxonomic order. Results: Both B. bassiana and Metarhizium spp. significantly increased predator mortality (pooled OR = 13.33) and reduced survival (OR = 7.665), with no significant difference in lethality between species. Developmental time was significantly prolonged and fecundity was significantly reduced, while longevity showed no significant overall effect, albeit based on limited data (k = 6). Exposure pathway was the strongest significant moderator of fecundity risk: direct application caused significantly greater fecundity reduction than soil or prey-mediated exposure, and Coleoptera showed the greatest susceptibility to developmental disruption among taxonomic orders based on the available data, with Coleoptera also being by far the most represented order (n = 67 observations). Conclusions: Exposure pathway, rather than EPF species identity, was the primary determinant of laboratory-observed lethal and sublethal effects on predatory arthropods, indicating that application method warrants priority attention in ecological risk assessment and in the design of EPF-based biological control strategies that seek to conserve predatory arthropods as key natural enemies, although field validation of these laboratory-based, worst-case-scenario estimates is still needed.]]>
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