In a study on organic farms in Illinois, researchers Scott Clem, Ph.D. (pictured) and Alexandra Harmon-Threatt, Ph.D., found that field borders with a mix of grasses and flowering plants provide important winter refuge habitat for arthropods that like to eat or parasitize crop pests, allowing these natural enemies to get an early start on emerging pests in the spring. (Photo courtesy of Scott Clem, Ph.D.)