Biological Control Vocabulary
When farmers release natural enemies, or beneficials, to manage introduced pests, they are using biological control tactics. Classical biological control is the importation and release of beneficial insects against exotic pests. When farmers add a species of natural enemy to a field where it is not currently present, or present only in small numbers, they are using augmentation biological control: they can either inundate a field with large numbers of natural enemies or inoculate it with relatively few at a critical time. When they conserve the augmented natural enemies or the ones that are already present in and around their fields, they are using conservation biological control. Parasitoids — a class of beneficials — are parasitic insects that kill their hosts.