Cover Cropping for Beneficial Insects

Cover cropping has traditionally been valued for its ability to promote healthy soils. Certain crops can provide multiple additional benefits, including habitat for pollinators and beneficials. Using cover crops as insectary habitat requires thinking outside the box, from species selection to management. Join a member of the Xerces Society and a University of California researcher as they share their experiences working with farmers to develop, install, and evaluate insectary cover crops in different cropping systems throughout California. This workshop will walk participants through the process of designing and managing insectary cover crops. The speakers will provide updates on current research and will share the monitoring protocols that scientists have developed to track changes in pollinator and beneficial insect populations on each farm.