The Biological Control Section of the Plant Pest Control Branch, Hawaii Department of Agriculture is committed to finding living natural enemies to control plant pests. This section is composed of a number of units: Survey and Detection, Taxonomy, Exploratory, Insectary/Quarantine, and Plant Pathology.

The units work together to implement the various phases of biological control programs, including detection of new immigrant pests, exploration for natural enemies of targeted pests in their native regions, collection and shipment of promising control agents to certified quarantine facilities in Hawaii, identification of the agents, propagation or culture of prospective agents under quarantine, study and testing to determine their suitability for use as biological controls, liberation from quarantine of approved agents, and, finally, mass production and release of the agents into the environment to effect control of the targeted pest.