People tend to dislike insects, especially ant, beetle, cockroach, and mosquito varieties, but before suggesting that a world without insects would be a wonderful place, it’s important to remember just how important many types of insects are to the environment and its diverse set of ecosystems.
While it’d be great to never have to deal with a mosquito bite again, these pesky insects are the prey of choice for frogs and similar animals. Without mosquitoes, many frogs would starve, and this would potentially trigger a domino effect up the food chain as larger animals would struggle to find frogs to eat, and so on.
Many people could do without the presence of cockroaches too, but as it turns out, they’re particularly important for the ecosystem. Birds and rodents, among other similar classifications of animals, tend to snack on them rather frequently, and believe it or not, they’re an excellent source of protein.
Another insect that would be greatly missed would be the humble dung beetle. These miracle workers keep dung production in check – especially when it comes to frequent poopers such as cattle and marsupials. While the dung beetle may seem insignificant at first glance, an overabundance of dung can inhibit plant growth, resulting in major issues for any ecosystem.
These are just a few examples, but the honorable mention goes to pollinating insects such as bees and butterflies because they’re so vital to food production. Without them, you’d have trouble finding many different types of food on supermarket shelves, including fruits, vegetables, and even delicious honey.
Perhaps it's best that we deal with those pesky insects after all...
