AbstractCarabid beetles are important predators in agricultural landscapes feeding on a range of prey items. However, their role as predators of the olive fruit fly,Bactrocera oleae(Rossi) (Diptera: Tephritidae), one of the most serious pests of olives, is unknown. In this context, the feeding preferences and the functional responses of two carabid beetle species,Calathus granatensis(Vuillefroy) andPterostichus globosus(Fabricius), were studied under laboratory conditions. Feeding preference assays involved exposing carabid beetles to different ratios ofB. oleaepupae and an alternative prey, the Mediterranean fruit fly,Ceratitis capitata(Wiedemann). Both species fed onB. oleaepupae however,C. granatensisalways showed a significant preference for that prey whereasP. globosusswitched toC. capitatapupae when the offered ratio was below 0.5. The total prey biomass consumed was significantly higher forP. globosusthan forC. granatensis. Functional response curves were estimated based on different densities ofB. oleaepupae and both carabid beetle species exhibited a type II functional response using Rogers’ random-predator equation.P. globosusshowed shorter handling time (1.223 ± 0.118 h) onB. oleaepupae thanC. granatensis(3.230 ± 0.627 h). Our results suggest that both species can be important in reducing the densities ofB. oleaein olive groves, althoughP. globosuswas more efficient thanC. granatensis.