Our work suggests that a functional approach can reveal the interactions between biocoenosis and the factors affecting agroecosystems, not only spatially but also temporally. Adequate agricultural management should stimulate the presence of ‘positive’ arthropods, which could be able to restrain pest population directly and/or indirectly in a natural fashion. Future research should be focused on the role of medium-sized carabids, autumn breeders, to controle the olive fly and possibly other crop pests. Moreover, as we have found that several factors affect almost to the same degree the species distribution, the complexity of the olive agroecosystem must be considered when planning to use carabids for providing ecosystem services.