The Employment of Exotic Entomophagous Insects in Pest Control1

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Abstract
In order for an exotic entomophagous insect to establish itself when colonized in a new country, it must frequent the habitat of the host species at a time when the susceptible stages of the host are present. Establishment has maximum insurance when the colonizations are numerically adequate and are placed in contact with susceptible host populations which are not regressing. Effective entomophagous insects are usually derived from the native habitat of the host, provided that the host in that habitat exists at low population densities. The dominant entomophagous species obtained under such conditions is likely to be the most effective, particularly if it is host specific. Importations should be made from representative types of host environments, since no one species of entomophagous insect is likely to be effective throughout the range of its host. After establishment, artificial exposure of host populations provides a means of demonstrating the effectiveness of the entomophagous insect. However, where two or more entomophagous insects are concerned, evaluation may be difficult since the species which are responsible for the reduction of high host densities may not be the species responsible for the maintenance of the host populations at the average level or steady density.

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