Conservation biological control

Definition

A pest management strategy that preserves, enhances, or restores populations of native natural enemies—predators, parasitoids, and pathogens—by modifying the environment rather than introducing exotic species or mass-rearing agents. The approach focuses on habitat management, reducing pesticide impacts, providing alternative prey or floral resources, and maintaining overwintering refuges to sustain resident beneficial arthropod communities.

Etymology

From conservation (preservation of existing resources) + biological control (use of living organisms to suppress pest populations).

Example

A Midwestern corn grower establishes flowering strips of buckwheat and wild carrot along field margins to support parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) that attack European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis) larvae, thereby reducing reliance on insecticide applications.

Synonyms

• habitat management for biological control
• natural enemy conservation

Related Terms

• classical biological control
• augmentative biological control
• Natural enemy
• parasitoid
• predator
• Habitat manipulation
• Ecological intensification
• Integrated Pest Management

Usage Notes

Distinguished from classical biological control (importation of exotic natural enemies) and augmentative biological control (periodic release of mass-reared agents). Often considered the most sustainable and cost-effective form of biological control when sufficient natural enemy diversity exists. Effectiveness depends on landscape context, with greater benefits typically observed in heterogeneous agricultural landscapes compared to monoculture expanses. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with "habitat management," though the latter is broader and may include practices not directly targeting natural enemies.