Classical biological control has generally focussed on specialized natural enemies because of their efficiency and close association with the pest species. Theoretical studies suggest, however, that the equilibrium created by the interaction of pests with highly efficient specialists is less stable that with generalists. On the other hand, although the interaction with generalist natural enemies may maintain pest populations at very low and stable densities, there is always the possibility of escape following environmental disturbances. A solution may be the use of combinations of generalist and specialist natural enemies.
Keywords: population regulation, generalist and specialist predators
The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA