author(s)
Ciro Pedro Guidotti Pinto

abstract
Biological control is an important weapon in favour of sustainability in agricultural systems. Parasitoidea is a monophyletic hymenopteran lineage that involves species with parasitoid lifestyle, e.g. the known families Braconidae and Ichneumonidae. The use of parasitoids as natural enemies for suppressing harmful insects is an ecofriendly action aiming the reduction of chemical spraying in crop protection. Parasitoid guilds, such as egg, larvae and pupal parasitoids have great potential of introduction in biological control programs. This review discusses the current bibliography about the use of parasitoid wasps as natural enemies, different guilds and ecological interactions inside an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) context.