175 © The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com. Review Carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and biological control of agricultural pests in Latin America Francisco J. Cividanes Instituto Biológico, Laboratório de Parasitologia Vegetal, Av. Bandeirantes no. 2419, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14030-670, Brazil (fjcivida@ gmail.com) Subject Editor: Gadi VP Reddy Received 10 August 2020; Editorial decision 11 November 2020 Abstract The well-diversified Latin American agriculture plays an essential role in the economy of that region, through the export of food and agricultural commodities. The region is expected to continue playing a significant role in world agricultural production and trade. Carabid beetles are efficient consumers of arthropod pests and weed seeds on agricultural land, which makes them a target for studies by entomologists aiming to determine whether predatory carabids are capable of suppressing pest populations. However, carabids have been mostly studied in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Here, evidence for carabids as biocontrol agents of agricultural pests in Latin America is examined, aiming to improve understanding of this predator group in Latin American agroecosystems. The records found were organized into the following subject areas: conser- vation tactics, biocontrol agents, agricultural practices, and population survey. The literature review identified several gaps in knowledge of these topics, which made it possible to indicate potential research projects re- lated to noncrop habitats, population studies, and consumption of weed seeds. Laboratory investigations of carabids’ predatory capacity indicated that they have the potential to control pests. However, field studies have failed to demonstrate that carabids significantly decreased pest densities. Although polyculture is a traditional practice of smallholder farmers in Latin America, the literature involving carabids and this sustainable agricul- ture practice is sparse. Looking forward, the utilization of polyculture and the existing no-till system in large fields provide opportunities for future research on ground beetles in Latin America. Key words: agricultural practice, ground beetles, polyculture, population survey, tillage Latin America covers an area that stretches from Mexico to southern South America, including the Caribbean, encompassing 34 coun- tries. The region is an excellent reserve of forests and arable land, of which 38% is used for agriculture (9.5% for crops and 28.5% for pasture) (Dixon et al. 2001, OECD/FAO 2019). A prominent char- acteristic of Latin American agriculture is its heterogeneity, which can be observed in the diversity of the region’s farm structures. Agriculture in the Southern Cone is dominated by large commercial export-oriented farms, mainly in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. In contrast, much of the rest of the region is occupied by smallholders and family agriculture (OECD/FAO 2019). Latin America is a prom- inent exporter of food and agricultural commodities, accounting for 16% of global food and agriculture exports. The region is expected to continue playing a signifcant role in the world’s agricultural pro- duction and trade (Duff and Padilla 2015, GAP Report 2018). The beetle family Carabidae is highly diverse, containing an es- timated 39,000 described species in ca. 100 tribes and 1,860 genera (Erwin et al. 2015). In Latin America, carabid diversity was esti- mated at 4,400 species and 330 genera by Reichardt (1977, 1979). Since 1979, several new species and genera have been described (e.g., Ball and Shpeley 1983, Erwin 2002, Martínez 2003, Roig-Juñent et al. 2003, Will 2004, Casale 2011, Costa et al. 2011, Maddison and Toledano 2012, Allegro and Giachino 2016, Shpeley et al. 2017, Campaner and Will 2020). Considering that the carabid fauna of Latin America is one of the most diverse, numerous species are yet to be discovered. Many environmental factors can influence carabid activity, abundance, and species richness in agricultural systems. The most important factors are temperature, humidity, light, soil type, soil moisture, food availability, and crop characteristics (Thiele 1977, Lövei and Sunderland 1996, Thomas et al. 2002). Carabids can also be affected by the shade provided by cultivated or weedy plant cover, which preserves soil moisture and reduces temperature vari- ation below the canopy (Holland 2002, Yardim and Edwards 2002). Besides being dominant predators in ecosystems, carabid beetles have great importance in the dynamics of food webs and the poten- tial to suppress agricultural pest populations (Toft and Bilde 2002, Kotze et al. 2011). They are one of the most studied insect families Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 114(2), 2021, 175–191 doi: 10.1093/aesa/saaa051 Advance Access Publication Date: 6 January 2021 Review Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/aesa/article/114/2/175/6065623 by guest on 10 April 2021