{"id":481387,"date":"2026-05-12T20:02:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T20:02:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/481387\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T20:02:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T20:02:17","slug":"how-biodiversity-strips-help-to-attract-more-beneficial-insects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/481387\/","title":{"rendered":"How Biodiversity Strips Help to Attract More Beneficial Insects"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the end of 2024, a group of horticulture businesses across the Netherlands established a 250-square-meter biodiversity strip next to their greenhouse. In 2025, researchers tracked how these strips developed more than six monitoring rounds. The findings were compared with equally sized areas of short-mown grass. The project\u2019s central question was whether flowers and other plants around the greenhouse attract more beneficial insects<\/a>, without causing extra influxes of pests.<\/p>\n

More Pollinators and Natural Enemies<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe first results show that biodiversity strips contain more bees, bumblebees, hoverflies, and butterflies than grass,\u201d says WUR researcher Kyra Vervoorn. \u201cOn average, we recorded more than 20 times as many bees and bumblebees there. Natural enemies of glasshouse pests were also present in higher numbers, including Orius (a small predatory bug)<\/a> and lacewings. Ladybirds were observed three to four times more often.\u201d<\/p>\n

That does not automatically mean that more natural enemies are also present inside the greenhouse itself. That link has not yet been studied at this stage. The results do show that the strips function as a habitat for beneficial insects<\/a> in the immediate surroundings of the greenhouse.<\/p>\n

Aphids as a Food Source, Not a Threat<\/strong><\/p>\n

In total, the researchers identified 23 aphid<\/a> species. Many of these appear to be associated with specific plants in the strips or in the surrounding vegetation. Most species are specialists or depend on plants outside the greenhouse. \u201cMost of the aphids we find, therefore, do not pose a risk to the crop,\u201d says Vervoorn. \u201cThey may actually serve as a food source for natural enemies<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Virus study: TSWV Also Found in Control Areas<\/strong><\/p>\n

In addition to insect numbers, the researchers are also examining possible virus transmission. During the summer months, thrips numbers increased, a pattern consistent with earlier observations. Thrips from flower samples were tested for tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV)<\/a> using PCR, a method that can detect viral genetic material.<\/p>\n

Prospiant Celebrating Five Years of Partnering With Greenhouse Growers<\/p>\n

TSWV fragments were found in thrips at 13 of the 20 businesses, spread across all regions. \u201cThis means that viral genetic material is present, but it does not confirm that thrips are actually able to transmit the virus,\u201d says Vervoorn. \u201cWhat is more, TSWV was also found in plants in the control areas. On the basis of these results, the virus therefore cannot be directly linked to the biodiversity strips.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Greenhouse<\/a><\/p>\n

For additional information on the effectiveness of biodiversity trips in attracting beneficial insects, including a follow-up 2026 study tracking results after an additional year of monitoring, please read the original article<\/a> on the Wageningen University & Research website.<\/p>\n


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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Netherlands-based Wageningen University & Research (WUR) combines fundamental and applied knowledge in order to contribute to resolving important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environments.\t\t\t\t\t\tSee all author stories here.<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At the end of 2024, a group of horticulture businesses across the Netherlands established a 250-square-meter biodiversity strip…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":481388,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[210542,210543,18,19,210544,17,13882,133,210545,210546],"class_list":{"0":"post-481387","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-beneficial-insectary","9":"tag-beneficial-insects","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-insect-control","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-pollinators","15":"tag-science","16":"tag-tomato-spotted-wilt-virus","17":"tag-wageningen"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116563394747285597","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=481387"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481387\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/481388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=481387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=481387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=481387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}