Although most insect species have a beneficial role in the ecosystems, some of them represent major plant pests and disease vectors for livestock and humans. During the last six-seven decades, the sterile insect technique (SIT) has been used as part of area-wide integrated pest management strategies to suppress, contain, locally eradicate or prevent the (re)invasion of insect pest populations and disease vectors worldwide. This Special Issue on "Sterile insect technique (SIT) and its applications", which consists of 27 manuscripts (7 reviews and 20 original research articles), provides an update on the research and development efforts in this area. The manuscripts report on all the different components of the SIT package including mass-rearing, development of genetic sexing strains, irradiation, quality control as well as field trials.
Keywords: Hemiptera; area wide pest management; fruit flies; insect pest control; mosquitoes; moths; tsetse flies; vector control.