The Development and Regulation of Insect Pest Populations

As the largest and most diverse group of animals globally, insects are intricately connected to human life. Insect pests pose significant threats to both human production and daily life, and despite sustained efforts to combat them, achieving complete victory remains challenging. This is mainly because insect pest populations are easily expandable over spatial and temporal scales, and human interventions only play a limited role in controlling insect pest populations locally. Beyond human interventions, such as chemical pesticide spraying, trapping devices, afforestation, and killing, various factors, including climate, host plants, and natural enemies, play crucial roles in regulating insect pest populations. Based on the current occurrence and developmental status of insect pests, several factors such as climate, host plants, and natural enemies inhibiting insect pest populations were introduced in the review after elucidating the natural laws governing the development of pest populations. The discussion encompasses common methods for pest population control, emphasizing the importance of considering the regional distribution of the entire population, short-term mortality rates, and the duration of effectiveness. The ultimate annual cumulative mortality rate or generational total mortality rate is highlighted as a vital indicator. To achieve better control of insect pests, it is crucial to consider various biotic and abiotic factors, fully utilize the role of natural factors such as natural enemies, and actively mitigate adverse impacts among these factors.