Decision-making on farms can be a balancing act, often with limited time, labor, and resources. Installing native plants to support beneficial insects can provide stability for a small-scale farm or community garden. Similar to the multiple roles friends and neighbors play in our local communities, beneficial insects can offer many services to a farm or garden. Lacewings, predatory and parasitic wasps, flies, beetles, native bees, and other insects play a vital role, day and night, in the production of agricultural crops through pollination, pest control, and building healthy soils.
This document provides descriptions of the various roles beneficial insects play throughout their life cycle and where they may be found on the farm and/or garden. Habitat options and information for how to acquire resources through the USDA for habitat installation are also included.