The predatory bug Orius insidiosus (Say) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) is an important biological control agent of several insect pests,including thrips, aphids, mites, whiteflies, and the eggs and small larvae of Lepidoptera.O. insidiosus is a voracious generalist predator in all its active life stages, which means it can be released at different stages of its development.O. insidiosus also has the ability to feed on pollen and can adapt to different habitats and ecosystems, which allows it to remain within a given agricultural area and enables small populations
of the insect to be used.
Another factor that makes O. insidiosus a desirable agent in biological control programs is the ease of mass rearing the insect. Releases of O. insidiosus are usually undertaken for the control of thrips on greenhouse crops. However, releases on field crops are also being carried out successfully. This predator has great potential as a biological control agent of the tomato leafminer Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), an important pest that has
caused severe damage to tomato crops worldwide. O. insidiosus is more prevalent in tomatoes cultivated with low levels of insecticide use (Miranda et al., 1998), and the use of pesticides can significantly diminish its populations.