Numerous studies conducted on a variety of temporal and spatial scales around the world show that dipteran parasitoids can exert effective control over some insect pests. This paper provides an overview of major examples of successful classical and augmentative biological control initiatives, organized by major dipteran families which include parasitoid species (i.e., Tachinidae, Phoridae, Sarcophagidae, Cryptochetidae, Bombyliidae, Syrphidae) and according to different global regions. In addition, examples of unsuccessful attempts at biological control using dipteran parasitoids are discussed, along with potential reasons for these failures. A notable drawback found during our literature review is that many parasitoids and host species are not correctly identified, and information on laboratory and field studies is rather scarce. Reproductive strategies of dipteran parasitoids and host-parasitoid associations need to be better investigated. Expanding the knowledge of these parasitoids is crucial for improving biocontrol strategies, especially against pests for which dipterans are key natural enemies.

Natural enemies are a good alternative for pest control. To enhance their role as biocontrol agents, understanding their biology and ecology is necessary. Pentatomid hemipterans are pests of important crops, and tachinids are natural enemies of their adult stage. Neobrachelia edessae (Diptera: Tachinidae) is a Neotropical parasitoid fly of the stink bug Edessa meditabunda (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). It belongs to the subfamily Phasiinae tribe Parerigonini, with practically unknown biology. We evaluated the life history of this parasitoid offering hosts to mated females and described morphological characteristics of larval instars. Hosts were kept under controlled conditions until death or emergence of parasitoids’ pupae. Differences in developmental times and longevity were evaluated considering the number of larvae inside each host, the sex of the parasitized host, and the sex of the F1 fly. Egg to pupa development time was affected by the number of larvae developing inside host’s body. On average, 27 days were needed to complete the larval stages if the larva developed in solitary, meanwhile 30 days on average were needed when the larvae developed with siblings within the host. Pupa to adult development time was on average 19 days. Average adult longevity was 11 days. Neither the sex of the parasitized host nor the sex of the F1 fly affected developmental times nor longevity of F1 adult flies. Given that biological information of this species is scarce, as it is the case for most tachinid species, these results are relevant for the design of biological control programs in the future.

Natural enemies are a good alternative for pest control. To enhance their role as biocontrol agents, understanding their biology and ecology is necessary. Pentatomid hemipterans are pests of important crops, and tachinids are natural enemies of their adult stage. Neobrachelia edessae (Diptera: Tachinidae) is a Neotropical parasitoid fly of the stink bug Edessa meditabunda (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), with practically unknown biology. We evaluated the life history of this parasitoid when developing on adults of E. meditabunda , and described the morphology of larval instars. Differences in developmental times and longevity were evaluated considering the number of parasitoid larvae per host, sex of the parasitized host and sex of the fly offspring. Egg to pupa development time was affected by the number of larvae developing within the host. On average, 27 days were needed to complete larval development if there was a single larva per host, whereas 30 days on average were needed when more than one larva developed within a host. Pupa to adult development time was on average 19 days, and average adult longevity was 11 days. Developmental time and longevity of parasitoid offspring were not affected by either host sex or parasitoid sex. Given that biological information for this species is scarce, as is the case for most tachinid species, these results are relevant for the design of biological control programs in the future.

Tachinid flies are natural enemies of adult hemipterans of the family Pentatomidae, which are considered pests of economically important crops. We evaluated the performance of Neobrachelia edessae Townsend (Diptera: Tachinidae), a Neotropical parasitoid fly of the stink bug Edessa meditabunda (Fab.) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), and assessed the effects of parasitism on host longevity, fecundity, and fertility. Differences in parasitism rates were analysed considering host exposure times, number of male parasitoids per experimental unit, maternal origin of the female fly, and sex of the offered host. In addition, the performance of the F1 generation was evaluated in terms of parasitism success. Female performance improved with longer host exposure times, when female parasitoids had copulated with more than one male, and when female flies were obtained from field-collected hosts. More than 60% of the progeny from the parasitoid females that were allowed to copulate with more than one male were able to pupate, whereas when parasitoid females copulated with only one male, just 44% of the progeny were able to pupate. Parasitism decreases the longevity of both male and female hosts and reduced both the fecundity and fertility of females. Moreover, parasitized E. meditabunda exhibited lifespans of approximately half those of unparasitized stink bugs. In addition, parasitized females experienced an approximate 30% decline in fecundity and a 23% decline in fertility relative to unparasitized females. These results indicate that N. edessae has a strong potential as a biological control agent of E. meditabunda .