With a hand lens and photo-illustrated guide by Oregon State
University Extension and Oregon Tilth, you can teach yourself to
identify beneficial insects that prey on your crop pests. The
just-released guidebook, "A Pocket Guide: Common Natural Enemies
of Crop and Garden Pests in the Pacific Northwest" – publication
EC 1613-E – offers macroscopic photos of many natural predators
and parasitoids in their life stages, along with identification
and observation tips. It is available on line for no charge at
http://ipmnet.org/Pocket_Guide_of_Natural_Enemies.pdf. The
Farmscaping for Beneficials program at OSU's Integrated Plant
Protection Center works with PNW growers to help foster
beneficial invertebrate predators and parasitoids and native
pollinators on their farms. These tiny creatures can help
control crop pests such as aphids, cutworms, earworms, slugs,
leaf miners, spider mites and earwigs. "Predators and
parasitoids that can manage farm and garden pests include lady
beetles, predator mites, hoverflies, the