The future of biological control of weeds with insects: no more 'paranoia', no more 'honeymoon'.

To meet the future challenges facing biological control of weeds, two issues are considered: first the ‘paranoia’ about the threat of biocontrol agents to non-target plant species, and second, the ‘honeymoon’ regarding the lack of accountability for projects that failed to achieve their desired objectives. With a suggested new mindset on these issues, proposals are made to deal with five current pressures that biological control of weeds is facing: (i) the image of the discipline, (ii) host specificity verification, (iii) selection of candidates, (iv) funding and (v) regulatory requirements.

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