Soil erosion by wind is an important problem in Southeastern Missouri cotton fields. Grass strips can help to minimize wind erosion. However, little is known about the impact of grass strips on the entomofauna in this region. Research is being conducted to evaluate the influence of vegetation strips on the insect fauna and to determine the existence of gradients in insect numbers and diversity with distance from the strips. At closer distances from the vegetation strips: selected pests appear to occur at lower densities, some natural enemies appear to increase in numbers, and yield seems to be higher. Results at this time are preliminary and need to be validated since this is the initial year of a three year project.