Distribution and abundance of overwintering predatory arthropods (spiders, carabid and staphylinid beetles) were determined in intensely cultivated areas and in the surrounding seminatural habitats. Only few arthropods hibernated in fallow fields, while marginal areas harbored large numbers of entomophagous predators which spend the summer period in cultivated land. Spiders were found to be concentrated along tield margins with herbaceous vegetation. Hedges, forest edges and open natural habitats contained many species which do not populate cultivated areas in spring and summer. Carabids are lass specialized with regard to their hibernation sites. While maximum abundances were found in the immediate surroundings of cultivated fields, hedges and forest edges contained large numbers as weil. Staphylinid beetles of agricultural importance mainly hibernated within and along forest edges and hedgerows. Thus, to optimize the impact of beneticial arthropods on agricultural herbivores, a variety of different overwintering habitats for predators should be offered.