I'm not sure how easy farming them would be. I think one main problem would be supplying their food. For example, in the pet trade a lot of mealworms are raised/farmed. But it's pretty straightforward, as they eat a simple grain meal. But parasitoid wasps? They might require nectar from certain flowers, and caterpillars to lay their eggs into. Ladybugs are probably doable, since I think you can order those
online... so somebody's doing it. Praying mantis--same thing. You can order them, so some people are doing this.
In terms of
permaculture, what would you be looking to achieve with farming beneficial insects? Are you thinking to
sell to others for their own gardens? A number of years ago, I had less understanding about things, and I got all excited and ordered some mason bee cocoons. I had a bee hotel set up too. I don't think any stuck around. So that's the first problem... you can't really expect them to stay in the garden of the person who buys them. Also, I later found out those
bees were adapted to the west coast of Canada, thousands of kilometres from where I live. I shouldn't have set them free here. I sincerely hope they found things to eat that they were used to. I do feel badly about it now.
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