The use of strip crops planted beside, or near, cotton is being promoted as part of the cotton industry's' integrated pest management (lPM) guidelines. Strip crops may be used to act as a trap crop for heliothis (Helicoverpa spp.), or as a nursery for beneficial insects and spiders. Chickpea has been used as a spring trap crop for heliothis, and Iucerne has been used as a summer trap for green minds and a nursery for beneficials. To date summer trap crops for heliothis have not been widely tested on the Darling Downs. Lablab (Labiab purpureus) has been proposed as a trap crop for heliothis because it is hardier than Iuceme and may be better suited to dryland regions. In addition to attracting heliothis, lablab may act as a nursery for beneficial insects and spiders. While chickpea is highly attractive to heliothis, it is not attractive to a very important group of beneficial insects - wasp parasitoids. The heliothis egg parasitoid Trichogramma and the larval parasitoid Microplitis are rarely found in chickpea. This is unfortunate, because chickpea trap crops could potentially generate millions of these useful wasps that could move into subsequent summer crops. However, lablab may act as a nursery for beneficial arthropods (including parasitic wasps) that may move into cotton and attack some pests, including heliothis. The aim of this study was to evaluate lablab as a trap crop for heliothis, and as a nursery crop for beneficial insects and spiders.