Every farmer knows that certain pests can invade their crops from surrounding habitats.
But we also know that these habitats can be important reservoirs for natural enemies as well. Current research is examining how natural enemies exploit non-crop habitats with the goal of using this knowledge to help improve biological control. One recent study examined the alternate hosts and habitats of Diaeretiella rapae , a parasitoid attacking various aphids including Russian wheat aphid, corn leaf aphid, English grain aphid , and greenbug . The authors suggest that having such plants in the farm environment may help to stabilize the population of D. rapae and therefore aid it in controlling crop pests. In another study, researchers asked if agricultural landscapes that contain more non-crop habitats support more diverse, and therefore more effective, communities of parasitoids.