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Insects
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Important Natural Enemy Insects of Agricultural Pests
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Important Natural Enemy Insects of Agricultural Pests

A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450). This special issue belongs to the section "Insect Pest and Vector Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 2137

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Yin-Quan Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Interests: insect ecology; functional plants; tri-trophic interactions; integrated pest management; biological control
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Zhizhi Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Insect Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Interests: biological control; host–parasitoid interaction; gene function and evolution
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue focuses on important natural enemy insects of agricultural pests, aiming to compile cutting-edge research and reviews that advance the science and application of biological control. The scope will encompass the following: (1) the biological and molecular characterization of key natural enemy insects; (2) the interactions between natural enemies and their hosts or prey; (3) mass rearing, strain improvement, selection, and quality assessment of natural enemies; and (4) the synergistic use of natural enemies with other biocontrol agents, such as functional plants, to enhance pest suppression and utilization efficiency. We welcome contributions that address these specific themes. Additionally, submissions on other topics related to the natural enemies of agricultural pests are also highly encouraged.

Dr. Yin-Quan Liu
Dr. Zhizhi Wang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Insects is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • natural enemy insects
  • biological control
  • mass rearing
  • synergistic pest suppression

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 4350 KB  
Article
Functional Responses of Three Insect Predators to Plutella xylostella Across Developmental Stages
by Guanghua Liu, Yilin Xiong, Yunbo Song, Yuling Liang and Yongyue Lu
Insects 2026, 17(5), 490; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects17050490 - 11 May 2026
Viewed by 232
Abstract
The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, is a major pest of cruciferous crops, and predatory insects are important candidates for its biological control. However, predator performance may vary substantially across developmental stages, complicating stage-specific evaluation and cross-species comparison. Here, we quantified corrected prey [...] Read more.
The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, is a major pest of cruciferous crops, and predatory insects are important candidates for its biological control. However, predator performance may vary substantially across developmental stages, complicating stage-specific evaluation and cross-species comparison. Here, we quantified corrected prey consumption and functional response patterns of three insect predators, Eocanthecona furcellata, Hierodula patellifera, and Paratenodera sinensis, across predator developmental stages, prey stages, and prey densities under laboratory conditions. Functional response types were classified using logistic regression, and model parameters were estimated using nonlinear functional response models. Corrected prey consumption generally increased with prey density, but the strength of density-dependent differentiation varied among predator instars and prey stages, with clearer treatment separation typically observed in later instars and adults than in early instars. Across 37 predator–prey-stage combinations, Type II-like functional responses predominated in 29 combinations, whereas 6 were classified as Type III-like and 2 were ambiguous. Strict matched-subset analysis further showed that relative differences among predator species were stage-dependent, indicating that cross-species comparisons were sensitive to predator developmental stage and the degree of experimental matching. These results indicate that the three predators have stage-dependent potential for the biological control of P. xylostella and provide a laboratory-based basis for their future evaluation and application under field conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Important Natural Enemy Insects of Agricultural Pests)
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17 pages, 4450 KB  
Article
Genomic Expansion and Adaptation in a Parasitoid Wasp Eretmocerus hayati (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae)
by Yuwei Zhong, Yunyun Fan, Ruoxin Ruan, Dujun Xi, Huifeng Luo, Ce Li, Hui Liu and Yinquan Liu
Insects 2026, 17(4), 369; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects17040369 - 31 Mar 2026
Viewed by 511
Abstract
The parasitic wasps of Aphelinidae (Hymenoptera) are a group of insects with significant biological control value. However, their genomic evolution and ecological adaptation mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we focused on the genome analysis of Eretmocerus hayati and performed a comparative analysis [...] Read more.
The parasitic wasps of Aphelinidae (Hymenoptera) are a group of insects with significant biological control value. However, their genomic evolution and ecological adaptation mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we focused on the genome analysis of Eretmocerus hayati and performed a comparative analysis with four other species from Aphelinidae. Our results indicated that the divergence time of Aphelinidae was approximately 119.9 million years ago. In Er. hayati, gene families related to energy metabolism and humoral immunity have significantly expanded, which may be associated with the high metabolic demands of its small body size and the immune adaptation strategies resulting from its unique parasitic methods. Additionally, genes involved in DNA replication and recombination have undergone positive selection in the ancestral branch of Aphelinidae species. Compared with 23 species within nine families in the Chalcidoidea superfamily studied here, the genome size of Er. hayati is the largest. The analysis of repetitive sequences revealed a recent burst of long terminal repeat (LTR) sequence insertions in the genome of Er. hayati. Our study indicates the evolutionary characteristics of Er. hayati in terms of gene family evolution, chromosomal collinearity, and transposon dynamics, providing a theoretical basis for understanding the environmental adaptation and biological control applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Important Natural Enemy Insects of Agricultural Pests)
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13 pages, 1501 KB  
Article
Two Native Anagrus spp. (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) Are Egg Parasitoids of the Invasive Two-Spot Cotton Leafhopper Amrasca biguttula (Ishida) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) in Florida, USA
by Alexandra M. Revynthi, Serguei V. Triapitsyn, Yisell Velazquez-Hernandez and Paul F. Rugman-Jones
Insects 2026, 17(3), 269; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects17030269 - 3 Mar 2026
Viewed by 992
Abstract
The two-spot cotton leafhopper, Amrasca biguttula (Ishida) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), was recently detected in Florida and other southeastern states, USA. This is a quarantine pest of regulatory significance, since it can infest staple crops, such as okra, cotton, eggplant, and tropical hibiscus. While collecting [...] Read more.
The two-spot cotton leafhopper, Amrasca biguttula (Ishida) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), was recently detected in Florida and other southeastern states, USA. This is a quarantine pest of regulatory significance, since it can infest staple crops, such as okra, cotton, eggplant, and tropical hibiscus. While collecting infested okra plants in Homestead, Florida, five female Anagrus (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) parasitoids emerged from eggs of Am. biguttula. The specimens were identified morphologically and molecularly by sequencing the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene and internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region of nuclear ribosomal RNA. Two Anagrus species were identified: Anagrus vulneratus and Anagrus sp. near vulneratus. These parasitoids are not known to occur in the Old World, the origin of Am. biguttula. Rather, they are native to North America. The available evidence suggests that the collected specimens switched from unknown local hosts in southern Florida to parasitize eggs of the invasive Am. biguttula. Future research to ascertain the identity of A. sp. near vulneratus and evaluate the efficiency of both parasitoids as natural enemies of Am. biguttula is warranted. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Important Natural Enemy Insects of Agricultural Pests)
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