ABSTRACT
Biotechnology has tremendous potential in the area of insect control. This could range from the development of genetic sexing strains, the engineering of disease resistance for beneficial insects, the control of insect transmitted diseases to improving the effectiveness of natural enemies against insect pests. This chapter discusses ways in which genetic technology could benefit the use of insect parasitoids in pest control. It also discusses the general concept of genetic manipulation and how it applies to biological control. From a biotechnological, as well as from a practical approach, members of the SIRE family represent the most likely candidates for successful genome manipulation. In a general sense, genetic modification is the ability to manipulate the genome of a living organism in such a way as to produce a desired effect. The expression of such quantitatively inherited traits depends upon the effect of variable environments and the genetic differences at various loci affecting the trait.
