Rob:

I had to do a bit of digging; I ended up calling Mike at "Green
Methods." Their catalog is out of this world, and their website
(www.greenmethods.com) has lots of information, too.

The proper term is a "banker plant." UFL suggests that R. padi
(bird-cherry aphids) on winter barley, S. graminum on winter wheat, and R.
maidis (corn leaf aphid) on sorghum. No idea if any of these guys will
target your crop plants, which (of course) is the biggest consideration.
Moreover, *finding* them for sale is going to be a problem. If you're
lucky and know an entomologist with the state, maybe they can hook you up.

Plenty more on Google using the following search:

"banker plant" IPM

It's a pretty elegant idea, really.

Mike also suggested another technique in which "trap plants" are
used to subvert insect populations to weakened or stressed plants, which
then attract heavier populations of pest-controlling insects, mites, etc.
The stronger, healthier plants in the garden continue to grow unmolested.

I have doubts as to the efficacy of trap plants in orchid
greenhouses, but thought I'd throw that out there for the home gardener in
all of us.

The address in the header doesn't work. Send no email there.

-AJHicks
Chandler, AZ