Insects are vital to sustaining life on Earth – and their numbers are falling fast. So consider ditching the fly spray and see what you can do to help.
Mosquitoes play an important role as pollinators.
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Mosquitoes have intricate and essential relationships with plants. Understanding their important work as pollinators would help to understand their role in different ecosystems.
The development of an industry in edible insects such as these mopane caterpillars has been slow.
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How do we know that bees were around when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth? The main evidence comes from fossils – the mineralized remains of long-dead organisms.
It's unlikely that all species of bees will go extinct anytime soon – but current losses could still have a terrible impact on food supplies and ecosystems.
Male (left) and female Heterodoxus spiniger from Borneo.
Natural History Museum, London
Tiny fairy wasps are so small they can lay their eggs inside other insects eggs, but they punch above their weight when it comes to keeping pests down.
It is vital to find alternative and sustainable sources of protein to meet the considerable challenge of ensuring food security for the future.
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Alarm bells went off when several recent studies reported mass insect die-offs in different parts of the world. But reports of an 'insect apocalypse' have been greatly exaggerated.
How many species still to name? That’s a good question.
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New species are being discovered all the time, which only adds to the problem of knowing how many there are on the planet today. It also helps to know what we mean by species.