**1. Introduction**

In Mexico, maize is one of the main agricultural crops. Every year, there is a complex of pests, where Lepidoptera, such as the fall armyworm FAW, stand out. *Spodoptera frugiperda* Smith (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is polyphagous to the American continent, where it causes economic losses up to 60% of total yield [1, 2]; among the damages, it causes are loss of photosynthetic area, structural damage to the whorl, direct damage to the grain, and low yields [3]; the pest is controlled with two or three applications of chemical insecticides because it is the most difficult pest to attack, according to an interview conducted by the Dow AgroSciences® company with producers in all regions of the country [4].

In Mexico, despite the importance of growing corn, an integrated pest management program IPM is not used, even though scientists have contributed information in this regard and even less have farmers implemented these techniques together or separately, in mostly only chemical control is used [2, 4].

Failing that, it is currently desired to implement the biological control of this pest due to the environmental benefits that could be achieved with the use of entomopathogenic agents (fungi, bacteria and viruses), some of which are mixed with bioremedial agents [2, 5–7] and natural enemies, where parasitoids stand out, which can be released in a massive way, if their habits, biological cycles and hosts are known, one of the families that has the most potential for the sustainable control of this pest is the parasitoids of the family Braconidae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonoidea), which represents the parasitoids with the highest taxonomic richness, abundance and distribution in Mexico, after Ichneumonidae [8].

Worldwide, 45 subfamilies, 1103 genera, and 21,221 valid species of Braconidae are recognized [9]. In Mexico, although important attempts have been made to classify and describe species of this family in recent years, only 36 subfamilies, 319 genera, 707 determined species, and 845 morphospecies have been recorded [10].

In Mexico, the Braconidae family is very diverse and abundant in all terrestrial ecosystems; however, of 21,221 species recorded in the world, only 707 species are known. In Mexico, the study of the Braconidae family is extremely important; after Ichneumonidae, it is one of the main families of parasitoids used in the biological control of insects considered pests; they have a great taxonomic richness, and they are regulatory agents of various groups of phytophagous insects: being indicators of the presence or absence of these populations, parasitoids can be used as bioindicator organisms, to monitor changes in an ecosystem affected by anthropogenic activities; in addition, their study helps in understanding the evolution of parasitoid-host interactions, as well as from symbiosis with viruses, and they can be massively released in agriculture and forest environments [11–13].

In Durango, Mexico, for the fall armyworm, the egg, larva, and pupa parasitoids that attack it have been identified; in addition, both taxonomic and genetic studies have been carried out, especially with the Braconidae family, which allows us to know about its diversity and provides a tool to be able to implement biological control measures.
