Insects are amongst the greatest pests of agriculture, horticulture and forestry worldwide, inflicting damage and economic costs both directly and by transmitting plant viruses. Many kinds of insects are now resistant or cross‐resistant to pesticides. Tracking studies have become very important for combatting insect pests and for better understanding their biology (eg insect population dynamics, movements, feeding behaviour and other ecological interactions). A wide variety of tracing approaches have been used including discriminative, tracer and molecular methods. The perfect technique for insect tracking is the technique that harmonizes with insects’ ‘normal’ biology. Furthermore, the technique should be environmentally safe, cost‐effective and easy to use. This paper reviews the current techniques used for insect traceability, documents the advantages and drawbacks of each method, and puts special focus on molecular techniques, including PCR‐denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis as a new and promising traceability tool that could provide insects with a unique biological barcode and thus make it possible to trace their movements.

中文翻译：

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追踪害虫：分子技术是否有新的潜力？

昆虫是全世界农业，园艺和林业的最大害虫之一，直接或通过传播植物病毒而造成损害和经济损失。现在，许多昆虫对农药具有抗性或交叉抗性。追踪研究对于防治害虫和更好地了解其生物学（例如昆虫种群动态，运动，进食行为和其他生态相互作用）已变得非常重要。已经使用了各种各样的跟踪方法，包括判别，示踪和分子方法。昆虫追踪的完美技术是与昆虫“正常”生物学相协调的技术。此外，该技术应该对环境安全，具有成本效益并且易于使用。本文回顾了目前用于昆虫溯源的技术，