Production and application of entomoparasites for the biological control of agricultural pests in the Azores.

1st International Symposium on Biological Control in European Islands, Centro de Luta Biológica do Departamento de Biologia da Universidade dos Açores, Ponta Delgada (Açores), September 23 to 29, 1995.Mythimna unipuncta (Haworth) (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) and Popillia japonica Newman (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae) are considered as the worst agricultural insect pests in the Azores. The noctuid parasites various crops, specially forage gramineae, in all the islands of the archipelago, mainly during summer months, causing a yeld loss of 8%, that is about one billion escudos per year. The beetle, which is considered as a quarantine pest in Terceira Island, affects several crops in the adult stage (i. e., corn, vine, ornamental plants, forage crops), and was inefficiently controled using chemical aerial sprays. Utilization of chemical control by farmers is increasing. In Sao Miguel Island, in 1990, costs associated with the application of two pesticides for M. unipuncta control reached more than 9 million escudos. However, chemical control is not a permanent solution, it increases the costs supported by the farmers, and may aggravate environmental problems, namely the destruction of beneficial insects