Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
Department
for Environment
Food & Rural Affairs
Releasing a non-native invertebrate biological control agent against plant pests and invasive weeds
A licence is needed to release non-native invertebrate Biological Control agents in England and it is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to do so without such a licence.
If you wish to apply for a new licence or renew an existing one please contact:
Matthew Everatt
Risk and Horizon Scanning Team
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Room 02FA01/05
National Agri-Food Innovation Campus
Sand Hutton
York
YO41 1LZ
Email:
Holding and researching non-native invertebrates under contained conditions
Applying for a licence to release in England
Applications can be submitted on the form provided below:
- Application for licence to release a non-native species for biological control purposes in England, under Sections 14 and 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (128Kb)
- Guidelines for the completion of an application to release an invertebrate biological control agent in England (102Kb)
Non-native invertebrate biological control agents available for use in England and for which a licence is required (as of April 2019)
If you wish to use a biological control agent that does not appear in either list and you are not sure of whether it requires a licence, please contact the above address.
| Species | Family | Organism type | Target pest group(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amblydromalus limonicus | Phytoseiidae | Predatory mite | Thrips, whitefly |
| Amblyseius degenerans | Phytoseiidae | Predatory mite | Thysanoptera |
| Amblyseius fallacis | Phytoseiidae | Predatory mite | |
| Amblyseius montdorensis | Phytoseiidae | Predatory mite | Thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) and whitefly (Aleyrodes spp., Bemisia tabaci, Trialeurodes spp.) |
| Amblyseius ovalis | Phytoseiidae | Predatory mite | Whitefly (Aleyrodes spp., Bemisia tabaci, Trialeurodes spp.) |
| Amblyseius swirskii | Phytoseiidae | Predatory mite | Bemisia tabaci, Frankliniella occidentalis, Trialeurodes vaporariorum |
| Anagyrus fusciventris | Encyrtidae | Parasitoid wasp | Pseudococcidae |
| Aphalara itadari | Aphalaridae | Herbivore | Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) |
| Chilocorus nigrita | Coccinellidae | Predatory beetle | Asterolecaniidae, Diaspididae |
| Delphastus catalinae | Coccinellidae | Predatory beetle | Aleyrodidae (Bemisia tabaci, Trialeurodes vaporariorum) |
| Delphastus pusillus | Coccinellidae | Predatory beetle | |
| Eretmocerus eremicus | Aphelinidae | Parasitoid wasp | Bemisia tabaci |
| Euseius gallicus | Phytoseiidae | Predatory mite | |
| Franklinothrips vespiformis | Aeolothripidae | Predatory thrips | Thysanoptera |
| Heterorhabditis bacteriophora | Heterorhabditidae | Parasitic nematode | Vine weevils (Otiorhynchus spp.) |
| Heterorhabditis downesi | Heterorhabditidae | Parasitic nematode | Root-eating pests |
| Leptomastix algirica | Encyrtidae | Parasitoid wasp | Pseudococcidae |
| Macrolophus caliginosus | Miridae | Predatory bug | Whitefly |
| Metaphycus flavus | Encyrtidae | Parasitoid wasp | Coccidae |
| Metaseiulus occidentalis | Phytoseiidae | Predatory mite | Tetranychidae |
| Neoseiulus californicus | Phytoseiidae | Predatory Mite | Tetranychidae |
| Pseudaphycus maculipennis | Encyrtidae | Parasitoid wasp | Pseudococcidae |
| Trichogramma achaeae | Trichogrammatidae | Parasitoid wasp | Tuta absoluta |
| Trichogramma brassicae | Trichogrammatidae | Egg parasitoid | Lepidoptera (Ostrinia nubilalis) |
Invertebrate biological control agents available for use in England and for which a licence is not required (as of January 2016)
If you wish to use a biological control agent that does not appear in either list and you are not sure of whether it requires a licence, please contact the above address.
| Species | Family | Organism type | Target pest group(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adalia bipunctata | Coccinellidae | Predatory beetle | Aphididae |
| Aleochara bilineata | Staphylinidae | Predatory beetle | Delia antiqua, Delia radicum (= Delia brassicae) |
| Amblyseius andersoni | Phytoseiidae | Predatory mite | Aculops lycopersicae, Aculus schlechtendali, Eriophyes canestrinii, Panonychus ulmi, Phytonemus pallidus, Polyphagotarsonemus latus, Tetranychus urticae, T. cinnabarinus |
| Anagyrus pesudococci | Encyrtidae | Parasitoid wasp | |
| Anthocoris nemoralis | Anthocoridae | Predatory bug | Psyllidae |
| Anthocoris nemorum | Anthocoridae | Predatory bug | Cacopsylla pyri, thrips |
| Aphelinus abdominalis | Aphelinidae | Parasitoid wasp | Aphididae (Aulacorthum solani, Macrosiphum euphorbiae) |
| Aphidius colemani | Braconidae | Parasitoid wasp | Aphididae (Aphis gossypii, M. nicotianae, Myzus persimiliscae) |
| Aphidius ervi | Braconidae | Parasitoid wasp | Aulacorthum solani, Macrosiphum euphorbiae |
| Aphidius matricariae | Braconidae | Parasitoid wasp | Myzus persicae |
| Aphidoletes aphidimyza | Cecidomyiidae | Predatory midge | Aphididae (Aphis gossypii, Aulacorthum sp., Macrosiphum sp., Myzus persicae) |
| Bracon hebetor | Braconidae | Parasitoid wasp | |
| Chrysoperla carnea | Chrysopidae | Predatory lacewing | Aphididae |
| Chrysoperla lucasina | Chrysopidae | Predatory lacewing | Aphididae |
| Cryptolaemus montrouzieri | Coccinellidae | Predatory beetle | Planococcus citri |
| Dacnusa sibirica | Braconidae | Parasitoid wasp | Liriomyza bryoniae, L. huidobrensis and Chromatomyia syngenesiae |
| Dalotia (Atheta) coriaria | Staphylinidae | Predatory beetle | Ephydridae (shore flies), Sciaridae (fungus gnats), |
| Diglyphus isaea | Eulophidae | Parasitoid wasp | Agromyzidae (Liriomyza spp.) |
| Encarsia citrina | Aphelinidae | Parasitoid wasp | Diaspididae |
| Encarsia formosa | Aphelinidae | Parasitoid wasp | Aleyrodidae (Bemisia tabaci, Trialeurodes) |
| Ephedrus cerasicola | Braconidae | Parasitoid wasp | Aphididae |
| Episyrphus balteatus | Syrphidae | Predatory hoverfly | Aphididae |
| Feltiella acarisuga | Cecidomyiidae | Predatory midge | Tetranychus cinnabarinus, T. urticae |
| Leptomastix dactylopii | Encyrtidae | Parasitoid wasp | Planococcus citri |
| Leptomastix epona | Encyrtidae | Parasitoid wasp | Pseudococcidae (Pseudococcus viburni) |
| Macrocheles robustulus | Macrochelidae | Predatory mite | Thysanoptera, Sciaridae |
| Macrolophus pygmaeus | Miridae | Predatory bug | Aleyrodidae |
| Metaphycus helvolus | Encyrtidae | Parasitoid wasp | Coccidae |
| Neoseiulus cucumeris | Phytoseiidae | Predatory mite | Thysanoptera (Frankliniella occidentalis, Thrips tabaci) |
| Orius laevigatus | Anthocoridae | Predatory bug | Thripidae (Frankliniella occidentalis, Thrips tabaci) |
| Orius majusculus | Anthocoridae | Predatory bug | Thripidae (Frankliniella occidentalis, Thrips tabaci) |
| Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita | Phasmarhabditidae | Parasitic nematode | Slugs |
| Praon volucre | Braconidae | Parasitoid wasp | Aphididae |
| Propylea quatuordecimpunctata | Coccinellidae | Predatory beetle | Aphidoidea |
| Phytoseiulus persimilis | Phytoseiidae | Predatory mite | Tetranychidae (Tetranychus urticae) |
| Rhizobius lophantae | Coccinellidae | Predatory beetle | |
| Rhizophagus grandis | Rhizophagidae | Predatory beetle | Dendroctonus micans |
| Sphaerophoria ruepellii | Syrphidae | Predatory hoverfly | |
| Steinernema carpocapsae | Steinernematidae | pathogenic nematode | Sciaridae, soil-borne insects, vine weevils (Otiorhynchus spp.) |
| Steinernema feltiae | Steinernematidae | pathogenic nematode | Melolonthidae, Sciaridae etc. |
| Steinernema kraussei | Steinernematidae | pathogenic nematode | Otiorhynchus sulcatus |
| Stratiolaelaps scimitus (Hypoaspis miles) | Laelapidae | Predatory mite | Fungus gnats (Bradysia spp.), Western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) |
| Trichogramma evanescens | Trichogrammatidae | Egg parasitoid | Lepidoptera (including on stored products) |
Licences in the Devolved Authorities
If you wish to apply for a licence in Scotland please email:
If you wish to apply for a licence in Wales please email: