Microbiome-mediated chemical communication in insects: Implications for pest management

Insects rely on semiochemicals to regulate aggregation, mating, foraging, and host selection. This review synthesizes evidence that insect-associated microbiota shape these chemical signals and evaluates their potential for pest management. The literature supports four principal routes by which microbes influence insect chemical communication: (i) direct production of volatile organic compounds; (ii) microbial provision or modification of pheromone precursors; (iii) microbiome-mediated effects on sensory and neural function; and (iv) context dependence driven by diet, development, quorum sensing, and environmental microbiomes. The strongest evidence comes from loss-gain-rescue studies, including German cockroach fecal volatiles and Wolbachia-linked effects on Drosophila paulistorum mating chemistry. Translationally, fermentation-based lures for fruit flies and microbial deterrents such as Xenorhabdus-derived metabolites show clear promise, whereas most other systems remain correlative because gene-to-metabolite-to-behavior chains are incomplete and field validation is limited. Microbiome-semiochemical interactions offer a credible platform for next-generation attractants, repellents, and symbiont-based pest control. Progress will depend on rigorous mechanistic validation, standardized behavioral assays, and biosafety-aware field testing to convert promising discoveries into scalable integrated pest management tools. © 2026 The Author(s). Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.