By doing this, bees and other small animals not only keep our landscapes beautiful, they also help us to grow foods such as tomatoes, blueberries and more. But alongside these activities, they contribute so much more to keeping our planet healthy and food plentiful. However, our relationship with insects is often misunderstood, driven by an ignorance about their vital contributions to maintaining a balanced environment.
Insects are integral to the cycle of life, and if we continue to play havoc with their ecosystems, it will have a huge impact on planet eating and the potential for our survival. So what are some of the activities which they perform? Dispersing seeds is a vital part of the plant life cycle. For a plant to survive, it must procreate, and the most common way to do this is to set seed.
These seeds need to be dispersed. Some of this is done by the wind and some seeds are eaten and expelled by birds and mammals, but many insects also play important roles. Ants are known to carry the seeds of more than 10,000 plant species, dropping some along their way, where they germinate in new areas.
Insects are vital food for many birds, who eat around 500 tonnes of these tiny but nutritious creatures each year. And many fish, reptiles, amphibians and mammals also eat bugs, as do an increasing amount of people. Insects have a reputation for attacking crops but many more act as protective patrols for those feed stuffs.
Bugs like ground beetles help trim weeds or take out pests .