Indirect effects of biological control agents (BCAs) are difficult to assess because they are mediated through the complex connections between species within the ecological community. Being able to visualise such complex connections by constructing qualitative food webs could greatly enhance our ability to predict indirect effects that could then be evaluated through empirical studies or modelling. Qualitative food webs were constructed for two case studies of entomophagous BCAs using the existing literature on invertebrate consumer relationships and status (e.g., as pest or rare species). We suggest that these webs can reduce uncertainty around the species that may be at risk, can predict species that perhaps should be monitored post-release, or identify knowledge gaps on species and their feeding relationships prior to the release of a BCA. Thus, these webs may be useful for those who need to consider the potential indirect risks of BCAs when making decisions about the release of a BCA into new regions.

很难评估生物控制剂（BCA）的间接作用，因为它们是通过生态群落中物种之间的复杂联系来介导的。通过构建定性的食物网，能够可视化这种复杂的联系，可以大大增强我们预测间接影响的能力，然后可以通过实证研究或建模对其进行评估。使用关于无脊椎动物消费者关系和地位（例如，作为害虫或稀有物种）的现有文献，为两个食虫BCA案例研究构建了定性食物网。我们建议这些网络可以减少可能面临风险的物种周围的不确定性，可以预测释放后可能需要监测的物种，或者在释放BCA之前确定物种的知识差距及其觅食关系。从而，