Editorial overview: Parasites/parasitoids/biological control (2023) — Understanding parasitoid ecology and evolution to advance biological control programs

Abstract

Insect parasitoids are ubiquitous components of terrestrial food webs and play a key role in terms of biodiversity, ecological impact and economic importance. In the framework of sustainable crop protection, parasitoids play a pivotal role in biological control since many species are effective natural enemies of agricultural pests. Insect parasitoids represent excellent model organisms for ecology and evolution. In addition, because of the intimate relationship with their hosts, parasitoids are also seen as models for studies on climate change. Recent developments in insect evolution have highlighted that hymenopteran parasitoids might be now considered to be the most diverse group of insects. Remarkable progress has been made in some area of parasitoid ecology, particularly towards unravelling which cues parasitoids use to locate hosts. Yet, we still have an incomplete understanding of parasitoid ecology. For example, evidence showing that microorganisms may act as hidden players in parasitoid interactions is rapidly accumulating. In this issue we attempted to fill some gaps on parasitoid ecology and evolution which we believe are relevant for optimizing the use of parasitoids in biological pest control.