Attention to the effects of cover crops on insect populations can result in improvements in insect management. Manipulation of cover crops for insect pest control is a complicated proposition. It is never as simple as attracting beneficial insects and repelling pest insects. A given cover crop can be attractive to either pest insects or their predators for several reasons. Many cover crops provide a supplemental food source to insects in the form of nectar from their flowers.
Cover crops can also provide shelter for insects.
Insects which obtain food or shelter from a cover crop can in turn act as a supplemental food source to predatory insects. Insect interactions with cover crops can result in either positive or negative effects on the crop plant. A cover crop which attracts pest insects away from a cash crop can cause disaster if mowed or plowed at the wrong time. This can cause the pests living in that field to be released into a neighboring crop field. In spite of the complicating factors, some general strategies can be recommended.