The Current State of the Art on the Diets Used for Rearing of Aphidophagous Predators of the Coccinellidae Family- A Mini-Review

Biological control of plant pests using natural enemies is nowadays considered a viable alternative method to chemical control. There are numerous naturally occurring bio-control agents that can be selected for rearing and used to control agricultural pests. The study brings up to date the knowledge regarding the species of aphidophagous species in the Coccinellidae family already known as Biological Control Agents reared/commercially available or used in various pest control program worldwide. To achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the benefits and drawbacks of existing rearing methods, we reviewed a variety of research papers and specialized literature that investigated various approaches, including reliance on natural hosts, artificial diets, factitious hosts or combination of them. Also, we pointed out the existing research challenges, and outlines directions for research in Coccinellidae rearing programs.