Insectary plants attract beneficial insects, including predator insects and pollinators.
Components
Insectary plants can provide food, water, shelter or space eggs and larvae. These are provided in these forms:
- Plant matter for direct forage
- Plant matter for pest insect forage, which in turn provides forage for beneficial insects (EG: a "trap crop" of dill, which attracts aphids, which in turn attract ladybugs and their voracious larvae)
- Plant or ground environments for new generations of beneficial insects
- Shallow water sources, frequently with pebbles to provide perches
Commonly seen in
- Biodynamics
- Wineries
- Organic agriculture & gardens