Linking functional biodiversity, natural enemies, and insect microbiomes for sustainable biological control of agricultural pests

Abstract

Global agricultural pests continue to threaten crop productivity. Rising chemical resistance, environmental concerns, and the need for a sustainable food supply have increased interest in ecologically oriented pest control strategies. Furthermore, biological control has emerged as an essential component of sustainable agriculture, where habitat diversification and functional biodiversity can increase natural enemies' abundance, activity, and pest suppression. Recent studies indicate that insect microbiomes are essential for nutrition, immunity, growth, ecological adaptations, and interactions between insects and their natural enemies. Recent research suggests that microbial communities could impact host vulnerability to predators, parasitoids, and entomopathogenic fungi (EPF), which might subsequently influence biological control. Despite these progressions, functional biodiversity, natural enemy ecology, and insect microbiome research have historically developed as relatively separate fields of study. This review aims to synthesize current knowledge on ecological interactions among functional biodiversity, insect microbiomes, and biological control in agricultural systems. We examined the impact of habitat diversification on beneficial insects, the composition and functional role of microbiomes in relation to insect fitness, and the influence of microbial communities on the interaction between pests and biological control agents (BCAs). We then examined recent findings that have shown that environmental conditions, shaped by biodiversity, might affect microbiome assembly through mechanisms such as environmental microbial reservoirs, habitat complexity, and landscape‐scale processes. We propose an integrated approach in which functional biodiversity directly influences biological control through ecological interactions and indirectly through the microbiome's effects on pest‐natural enemy interactions. We state that biodiversity, microbiomes, and biological control are interconnected processes that should be regarded as integral components of agroecosystem functionality. Microbiome ecology may offer a new opportunity to enhance sustainable pest suppression and reduce chemical inputs in conservation biological management. Future research should focus on multitrophic, field‐based, and mechanistic investigations that advance microbiome‐informed biological control strategies for resilient and climate‐smart agriculture. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.