The importance of insects and arachnids on this planet is not reckoned solely on the destructive competition of relatively few species in agriculture or forestry or other activities of humans, even though these include problems of great importance. A more essential consideration is their diverse and fundamental involvement in biological support systems - consumption and degradation of organic materials living and dead, predation and parasitism on other insects and animals, biogeochemical cycling, pollination of flowers for fruit and seed production, and movement of energy through tropic networks involving multitudes of other species. Evolving over some 400 million years, terrestrial arthropods have come to occupy these niches on Earth; and the resultant interconnected biological support systems are the foundation for the continued existence of much of life on this planet. Simply put, terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems would not work without insects and arachnids (Rosenberg, Danks, Lehmkuhl, 773).
Insects perform a vast number of important functions in our ecosystem. They aerate the soil, pollinate blossoms, and control insect and plant pests; they also decompose dead materials, thereby reintroducing nutrients into the soil. Burrowing bugs such as ants and beetles dig tunnels that provide channels for water, benefiting plants. Bees play a major role in pollinating fruit trees and flower blossoms. Gardeners love the big-eyed bug and praying mantis because they control the size of certain insect populations, such as aphids and caterpillars, which feed on new plant growth. Finally, all insects fertilize the soil with the nutrients from their droppings.
Insects can be found in every environment on our planet. Insects have adapted to a broad range of habitats, successfully finding their own niche, because they are ecological generalists and can consume any substance that contains nutritional value. Not all insects are pests. Many insects are beneficial to man. Entomologists recognize the.....
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