*3.2.5 Mirid predator*

Predatory mirid bugs (Hemiptera: Miridae) were reported as biocontrol agents in sweet pepper [28, 29]. In addition to their agricultural uses as predators, mirid predators can induce plant defenses by phytophagy [30]. The punctures caused by mirid plant feeding induced the release of a mixture of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), namely green leaf volatiles [((*Z*)-3-hexenyl acetate, (*Z*)-3-hexenyl propanoate, (*Z*)-3 hexenyl butanoate, (*Z*)-3-hexenyl 3-methylbutanoate, and (*Z*)-3-hexenyl benzoate) and their common precursor (*Z*)-3-hexenol], methyl salicylate, and octyl acetate. Octyl acetate was detected in *M. pygmaeus*-punctured plants, which repelled the herbivore pests *F. occidentalis* and *B. tabaci* and simultaneously attracted the whitefly parasitoid *Encarsia Formosa* [30].
