The Microbiome as a Driver of Insect Physiology, Behavior, and Control Strategies

Insect pests impose major economic, agricultural, and public health burdens, damaging crops and transmitting pathogens such as dengue, malaria, and Zika. Conventional chemical control is increasingly ineffective due to insecticide resistance and environmental concerns, prompting a search for innovative strategies. The insect microbiome—comprising both obligate symbionts and environmentally acquired microbes—emerges as a key driver of host physiology and behavior. Microbes influence nutrient acquisition, immunity, reproduction, and chemosensory processing, often to promote their own transmission. By modulating olfactory and gustatory pathways, microbiota can alter host-seeking, mate choice, foraging, and oviposition patterns, reshaping ecological interactions and vector dynamics. These effects are shaped by microbial acquisition routes, habitat conditions, and anthropogenic pressures such as pesticide use, pollution, and climate change. Understanding these multi-directional interactions offers opportunities to design highly specific, microbe-based insect control strategies, from deploying microbial metabolites that disrupt host sensory systems to restoring beneficial symbionts in threatened pollinators. Integrating microbiome ecology with insect physiology and behavior not only deepens our understanding of host–microbe coevolution but also enables the development of sustainable, targeted alternatives to chemical insecticides. This review synthesizes current evidence linking microbiomes to insect biology and explores their potential as tools for pest and vector management.