Abstract:
The current changes in global climatic regimes present a significant societal
challenge, affecting in all likelihood insect physiology, biochemistry, biogeography and
population dynamics. With the increasing resistance of many insect pest species to
chemical insecticides and an increasing organic food market, pest control strategies are
slowly shifting towards more sustainable, ecologically sound and economically viable
options. Biologically based pest management strategies present such opportunities through
predation or parasitism of pests and plant direct or indirect defense mechanisms that can all
be important components of sustainable integrated pest management programs. Inevitably,
the efficacy of biological control systems is highly dependent on natural
enemy-prey interactions, which will likely be modified by changing climates. Therefore,
knowledge of how insect pests and their natural enemies respond to climate variation is of
fundamental importance in understanding biological insect pest management under global climate change. Here, we discuss biological control, its challenges under climate change
scenarios and how increased global temperatures will require adaptive management
strategies to cope with changing status of insects and their natural enemies.
