How to Create Habitat for Beneficial Insects

Yolanda Gonzalez, Urban Agriculture Specialist
Harvest New York

June 13, 2023
How to Create Habitat for Beneficial Insects

The How to Create Habitat for Beneficial Insects factsheet will teach you what attracts and keeps beneficial insects on your urban farm or garden.

Beneficial insects include a diverse collection of pollinators — not just honey bees — as well as flies, wasps, beetles, bugs and other insects that kill pests. While not technically insects, spiders and predatory mites also serve as natural enemies of pests. This factsheet was created by Amara Dunn, NYS IPM Program, with support from CCE Harvest NY.

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La hoja informativa Cómo crear un hábitat para los insectos benéficos le enseñará lo que atrae y mantiene a los insectos benéficos en su granja o jardín urbano.



How to Create Habitat for Beneficial Insects (pdf; 545KB)

Cómo crear un hábitat para los insectos benéficos (pdf; 524KB)


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Upcoming Events

Urban Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program (Urban CAMP): Session 5

March 26, 2025
3:30 PM - 6:00 PM
Queens, NY

The 2025 Urban Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program (Urban CAMP) is designed to empower NYC farmers and agricultural advisors in their journey to gain and share knowledge and tools needed to be resilient in the face of climate uncertainty. This program is a partnership between Cornell University, the Harvest NY Program in Cornell Cooperative Extension, and the USDA Northeast Climate Hub. The Urban CAMP curriculum draws heavily from the Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Fellowship (CAMF), created in response to farmers' need for information and technical assistance related to climate change.

The 2025 Urban Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program (Urban CAMP) will consist of a series of in-person workshops, trainings, online webinars, and in-person field days, tailored for the specific needs of farmers in and around New York City. The program begins February 26, 2026 and will run through September 2026. Five in-person training sessions will be held once a week on Wednesdays in February and March (Feb. 26th, March 5th, March 12th, March 19th, and March 26th). There will be a total of three in-person farm tours during the growing season (dates TBD). Urban CAMP participants will then work to develop an adaptation or mitigation plan for their urban farm, or a farm they work with. 

Session 5: Climate Funding and Resources

Announcements

New York Urban Farms Sustainable Pest Management Fact Sheet Series

Cornell Cooperative Extension has partnered with dozens of urban farms across New York State to demonstrate and evaluate sustainable pest management strategies. Together with farmers, we found success using control methods that prevent or reduce crop losses through exclusion strategies, crop timing, host resistance, the introduction of beneficial organisms, and more. Regardless of management strategy used, common requirements for success include a knowledge of the pest and disease complex, preventative deployment and commitment to the process. The New York Urban Farms Sustainable Pest Management Fact Sheet Series includes case studies highlighting pest management techniques that New York urban farms have found valuable.

NYS Urban Growers Pest Management Needs Assessment

As part of a multi-year project exploring non-spray pest management options that are economically and environmentally sustainable for urban farms, we conducted a needs assessment with urban growers across New York State. The New York State Urban Growers Pest Management Needs Assessment presents findings on current pest management practices, challenges, and topics of future interest.