Tenebrio molitor and its applications in Biological Control
Authors: Spinosa Patrícia Teixeira 
Published: July 2024

The growth of the world's population increases the demand for food and natural resources such as water, energy, and land use. The requisition and consequent use of natural resources in an unbridled and unsupervised way generates environmental degradation. Intensive agriculture to feed billions of people leads to the conversion of forests and other natural ecosystems to farmland, resulting in deforestation, biodiversity loss, and soil degradation. The need for new sources of protein, more sustainable and that collaborate with the well-being of the ecosystem, generates the process of studying the existing viabilities, even if remote or unknown, and, in this perspective, are the studies on the feasibility of insects as environmentally friendly and alternative sources of protein. Tenebrio molitor has been the target of many studies because it has characteristics that highlight it as a promising, sustainable, economically viable and ecologically friendly option, within the context of the New Food Frontier, since Tenebrio molitor farming contributes to global food security, and requires less costs, less water and land resources, compared to conventional animal husbandry. In addition to their use as food for humans and animals, the use of by-products and in Biological Control has drawn the attention of scholars in the defense of the environment. Biological control is a sustainable management method that uses natural enemies, such as insects, parasites, pathogens, and predators, to regulate the population of unwanted organisms, presenting an environmentally safe alternative to chemical pesticides (Roberto et al., 2002). This method helps to reduce dependence on chemical products, which, although effective, pose risks to the environment and human health, in addition to promoting the emergence of resistant and secondary pests, and negatively affecting beneficial insects (Bueno et al., 2017). Tenebrio molitor, known as the flour beetle, has been used as a host, prey and predator in biological control programs, presenting promising and effective characteristics. This insect can host parasitoids such as Trichospilus diatraeae, Tetrastichus howardi, Palmistichus elaeisis, used to control agricultural pests such as the screwworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), fruit flies, palm moths and brown caterpillar (Thyrinteina arnobia) (Favero et al., 2014); (Tiago et al., 2019); (Zanuncio et al., 2008). In addition to being used in the breeding of parasitoids, Tenebrio molitor has a fundamental role as prey in the breeding of predatory insects such as Podisus maculiventris, Podisus nigrispinus, Pristhesancus plagipennis (De Clercq et al., 1998). The use of Tenebrio molitor in Biological Control has benefits for agriculture, by allowing pest control in a more sustainable way and reducing dependence on chemicals harmful to the environment, however there are also challenges such as the risk of negative impact when larvae are released into natural environments, without adequate control. More research is needed to fully understand the effects of this species on the ecosystem and ensure that its use is done in a sustainable way.