ABSTRACT
Insect pest control programmes, which integrate the release of sterile insects, can be efficient only if the released insects have an optimal biological quality. Frequent monitoring of the quality of reared insects after being released in the field is an important but often neglected component of area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) programmes that integrate the sterile insect technique (SIT). Parameters of sterile insects, which should be monitored regularly, are sexual competitiveness of the released insects, and related components, e.g. survival, mobility, dispersal characteristics, and spatial occupation of the habitat. A well-balanced monitoring programme will, at any given time, provide essential feedback on the target and sterile populations in the field, and therefore on whether progress is being made. This information is prerequisite to efficient implementation of the release and cost-efficient use of sterile insects. The type of monitoring to be done will be determined largely by the particular biology of the target insect species. The rate of sterility induced in the wild insect pest population is the most important parameter in relation to the release of sterile insects; an increased rate of induced sterility in the native female population can unequivocally be linked to a decrease in the density of the target insect population.
