• Question: why do we need insects? how do they help etc?

    Asked by Hasafan to Áine, Ciarán, Eoin, Lydia, Victoria on 19 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: Ciarán O'Brien

      Ciarán O'Brien answered on 19 Nov 2014:

      So many reasons!

      Even though most of us hate wasps, they are good at eating other pests that might damage plants.

      Bees and other insects that drink nectar pollinate plants (how plants crossbreed with other plants), and without bees most of our food wouldn’t be able to grow, and the animals that eat that food would starve to death as well! They also make honey which is good food for a lot of animals from bears to people. 🙂

      If we had no flies, the spiders would have nothing to eat. Without spiders, a lot of birds and mice and other animals would starve, and all the animals that feed on THEM would starve, and so on. Most insects are food for bigger animals, and those animals are often food for people 🙂

      Silkworms (actually insects) produce silk, a very important material that makes very strong fabric for clothes and other industries.

      Ladybirds eat aphids, which are tiny insects that can absolutely ruin crops.

      Insects form a very complicated food web, and without them a lot of life on the planet would be way more difficult, or even impossible! 🙂

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