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Environmental risk assessments (ERAs) are required before utilizing exotic arthropods for biological control (BC). Present ERAs focus on exposure analysis (host/prey range) and have resulted in approval of many specialist exotic biological control agents (BCA). In comparison to specialists, generalist arthropod BCAs (GABCAs) have been considered inherently risky and less used in classical biological control. To safely consider exotic GABCAs, an ERA must include methods for the analysis of potential effects. A panel of 47 experts from 14 countries discussed, in six online forums over 12 months, scientific criteria for an ERA for exotic GABCAs. Using four case studies, a three-tiered ERA comprising Scoping, Screening and Definitive Assessments was developed. The ERA is primarily based on expert consultation, with decision processes in each tier that lead to the approval of the petition or the subsequent tier. In the Scoping Assessment, likelihood of establishment (for augmentative BC), and potential effect(s) are qualitatively assessed. If risks are identified, the Screening Assessment is conducted, in which 19 categories of effects (adverse and beneficial) are quantified. If a risk exceeds the proposed risk threshold in any of these categories, the analysis moves to the Definitive Assessment to identify potential non-target species in the respective category(ies). When at least one potential non-target species is at significant risk, long-term and indirect ecosystem risks must be quantified with actual data or the petition for release can be dismissed or withdrawn. The proposed ERA should contribute to the development of safe pathways for the use of low risk GABCAs.

Endoparasitoids can be killed by host encapsulation, a cellular-mediated host immunological response against parasitism that involves hemocytes aggregation. As a counteracting strategy, many parasitoids can evade this host response through self-superparasitism. The objectives of this study were: 1) to describe the parasitoid Pseudapanteles dignus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) early immature stages (egg and larva) encapsulation by the host Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), and 2) to determine the occurrence of self-superparasitism and the rate of escaping to encapsulation of this parasitoid. Knowledge of host-parasitoid immunological interaction is crucial when evaluating the potential of an endoparasitoid as a biological control candidate. Parasitoid-exposed T. absoluta larvae were dissected in vivo under light stereoscope microscope at 24-h intervals, for five days after exposition to detect encapsulation. The preimaginal stages of P. dignus and numbers of healthy and encapsulated immature parasitoids per host were recorded. Samples of parasitoid eggs and larvae were processed for SEM visualization of encapsulation. Necropsies evidenced that only the early first larval instar of P. dignus (up to 96 h-old) was partially or completely encapsulated. A non-melanized capsule, formed by layers of granulocyte-type hemocytes enveloping around the parasitoid body, was recorded. Approximately 50% of the parasitized T. absoluta larvae had significantly only one P. dignus egg, meanwhile supernumerary parasitization yielded up to seven immature parasitoids per host. The proportion of single-early first larval instar of P. dignus reached ô 0.5 and decreased significantly as the number of parasitoid individuals per host increased. P. dignus encapsulation and its ability to overcome with the host immune defense through self-superparasitism indicate that T. absoluta is a semi-permissive host for this parasitoid., Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores