Many people view insects as a pest that must be destroyed. As one of the earth’s oldest species, having existed for around 400 million years, they are however a vital part of the food chain and play a variety of key roles upon which we all depend.
When you consider that 90% of the world’s animals are insects, you can begin to understand how life as we know it could not exist without them.
Predators:
One area where insects often earn
themselves a bad name is in agriculture. Some species of insect are known to damage and destroy crops. Beneficial insects however prey on those who do the
damage and so protect the crop by
controlling pest numbers.
Decomposers:
Decomposition is an extremely
important ecological function.
Insects play a key role in breaking down dead plant and animal matter, keeping the earth clean and helping to return essential nutrients to the soil.
Pollinators:
Insects play a vital role in
pollinating our plants. Travelling from flower to flower, feeding on nectar they carry the plant’s pollen with them. Without insects many plants would have no way of transferring their pollen and so would be unable to reproduce.
Part of the food web:
Insects are an essential part of the food chain. The diet of many of our best known animal, bird and amphibian species includes insects. Without large insect numbers rich levels of biodiversity could not be supported.
Why not try tracking and recording insect species in your home garden and local area.
Things you can do to help
insects in your garden:
- Don’t squash them!
- Don’t use chemical pesticides
- Do leave leaf litter and rotten logs etc., about for them to clear up and live amongst.
Written by Rainforest Rescue International Illustration by Asia Hewapathirana. Discover more about Sri Lanka’s
endangered animals on our blog:
http:// srilankawildthing.blogspot.com. |
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