Precious insects - what are all these creepy-crawlies actually good for?

---

Well, as a matter of fact, we don't have a clue what most insects do. There are an estimated 5 million insect species on the planet, and we've only named one fifth of them - about one million. However, if you look at what those we actually do know provide for us and the rest of the living world, it becomes clear that losing insect species is potentially catastrophic, even if their ecosystem function hasn't been discovered yet.
Let's take a look at some of the vital contributions insects make to our world:

• They are at the basis of all terrestrial and freshwater food chains and food webs. The collapse of herbivore insect populations leads to a massive decline of the other insects that prey on them. They in turn are essential food for birds, bats, spiders, reptiles, amphibians, small mammals and fish, and their demise has a domino effect on the whole food chain. Let's not forget here that we humans are at the top of this very food chain.
  
• 87 percent of all plant species require animal pollination, of which insects provide the lion's share.
• About three quarters of all our crop types are also dependent on insect pollination.
• Insects break down organic matter like fallen leaves, timber, corpses and animal feces. In the process, they recycle valuable nutrients. What happens when these services are no longer provided? When cows were introduced to Australia in the 19th century, there were no local insects who could deal with their dung. The result was that the pastures were drowning in cowpats that took years to decompose, until dung beetles from elsewhere in the world were deliberately introduced to solve the problem.
• Insects that live in the soil play a major role in soil aeration.
• Many insects are important pest control agents (though, admittedly, most pests are also insects.) The wasps we are familiar with here in Europe prey on crop pests, for example, and also play a role in plant pollination.
• Insects can control unwanted or invasive plants.
• The role of insects as food for humans is something rather new and exotic for us here in Europe, but if you look at the world as a whole, a staggering 80 percent of people regularly consume insects!

With insect numbers in decline everywhere, all of these vital services are threatened. Luckily, every single one of us can take action to help boost insect populations, not only where we live but also in the rest of the world.
If you don't know where to start, I suggest you watch this space - there will be a whole series of Precious Insects posts, starting with 5 simple things you can do for insects in winter.

Fun insect fact: A favorite dish of Hirohito, the former Emperor of Japan, was boiled wasps with rice.

Source: Dave Goulson, Silent Earth - Averting the Insect Apocalypse