The capture of adult Elatophilus hebraicus  (Heteroptera, Anthocoridae) in traps baited with the sex pheromone of the Israeli pine bast scale, Matsucoccus josephi  (Homoptera, Matsucoccidae), enabled the study of population trends of the predator as related to those of its prey. Traps were exposed at monthly intervals in stands of Pinus halepensis  and P. brutia   ssp.brutia  for a period of 27 months. Fourier series were used to modulate population trends. The population density of M. josephi  increased in March-April and in August and October. A steep increase in trap catch of E. hebraicus  was noticeable during May and June. The rise of the predator population related positively, but only to a limited extent (r2=0.40) to the increase in prey density in the previous spring. On an annual base, an inverse relationship was found between the mean densities of M. josephi   and E. hebraicus . Population trends of both prey and predator varied slightly between regions, but not between host plant species. We also used pheromone-baited traps in additional areas of the Palaeartic region where other Matsucoccus  species occur. It was found that the range of E. hebraicus   and M. josephi   coincides with that of P. brutia ssp.brutia  in the East Mediterranean. In Pinus pinaster  stands in Portugal, two other predators, Elatophilus crassicornis  and Hemerobius stigma  (Neuroptera, Hemerobiidae) were caught in traps baited with the pheromone of M. josephi . These predators are now under appraisal to augment the natural enemy fauna of M. josephi   in Israel.