Until now, when WSU and USDA scientists have wanted to import insects for study, the insects had to be quarantined elsewhere at a certified facility. Current research through WSU's Biological Control Program includes both beneficial and harmful insects and mites that affect grain and other cultivated crops as well as rangeland and forest production. They have been released in 18 Washington counties since 1988. Entomology faculty also have broadened the U.S. gene pool of exotic natural enemies of the Russian wheat aphid by collecting specimens in Morocco, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Chile, Brazil and Argentina. Future projects include foreign exploration for natural enemies of cherry bark tortrix, a pest of fruit and ornamental trees, and for enemies of Hessian fly and cereal leaf beetle, which attack grain crops.
Biological controls help reduce the amount of chemical pesticides released in the environment.