Naturally occurring beneficial insects can be boosted by appropriate habitat management in agroecosystems, which provide all resources to promote their survival and reproduction. The focus of our research is primarily on hoverflies and parasitoid wasps. We are monitoring the abundance and species diversity of these beneficial insects, investigate their fitness levels and the suitability of certain renewable raw material plants as alternative food resources. For example, we explore the effects of undersown crops as a habitat and flowering plants as sources of nectar and pollen for beneficial insects and how such measures can be integrated into cultivation practice.

Harmful effects of land management can put species richness and abundance of natural enemies at risk, jeopardizing their regulatory ecosystem services. Negative as well as positive changes in the populations of beneficial insects as a consequence of land use need to be recorded in due time. To achieve this, we develop methods for a permanent monitoring in agricultural landscapes based on insect-friendly, minimally invasive survey methods.

Novel systems of land use, such as agrivoltaics, also pose new challenges and provide new opportunities for the preservation of functional biodiversity. Considering existing or future bans of the use of chemical-synthetic pesticides, the ecosystem services of beneficial insects, especially in field crops, will become even more important. We are elaborating tailored measures for an ecological enhancement of these crop systems that meet the needs of beneficial insects and maintain their populations.