It may seem strange at first blush to think of a company dedicated to pest control doing an article about the importance of respecting insects. But that’s one of the reasons we’re Good News Pest Solutions – and we’ve produced no shortage of articles over the years that talk about the importance and even desperate need for some of the seemingly most annoying insects on the planet. Everything God creates is for a purpose and insects are no exception.
Yes, bugs can be creepy and crawly and don’t always look that pretty. Yes, many of them spread diseases and damage our homes, our food, our clothing and furniture. But they also benefit us in ways many people may not be aware of… even, at times, providing the materials to fix the problem they created.
Top of Mind
Almost anyone over the age of 5 can tell you how important bees are because they pollinate flowers. If it weren’t for bees, we wouldn’t have a significant portion of our plant life. Not just the flowers that look pretty, but the food we grow to feed one another. There’s an apocryphal quote about how if we lost all the bees, we’d only last a few more years on the planet. But while bees are pretty important, they aren’t the only pollinators on the planet.
Bees handle roughly 80% of the pollination duties. Butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, wasps and mosquitoes also help. In fact, there are some flowers that are only pollinated by mosquitoes, including one of the most beautiful orchids in North America.
Along with their gardening duties, bees also provide the honey that we love to eat. Certain wasps and ants create honey too, mostly eaten in Australia. It’s still a little taboo in America, but everywhere else in the world people routinely eat insects for food. And they’re not even dipped in chocolate! Crickets, mealworms, grasshoppers, ants, and beetles are often eaten roasted or fried. Some are ground into flour and used for baking. That’s one way to go gluten free!
China produces some 30,000 tons of raw silk, 80% of the world's supply every year. They harvest it from the cocoons of the Silkworm, Bombyx mori. Spider silk is also being used to develop stronger fabrics, ropes and even bullet resistant tactical gear. Beeswax is used for candle making. It’s also the base product for hundreds of lotions, creams, lipsticks, ointments and polishes.
Less Well Known
You don’t hear as much about shellac and varnish outside of PBS and HGTV, but these products are still essential for high quality furniture. Both products are created using Lac, or the secretions of the scale insect Kerria lacca. Lac is also used in some cosmetics and perfumes, and to coat candies, pills, and make fresh fruit look more glamorous.
Scale insects are used in hundreds of dyes to color cosmetics, medicines, foods and beverages. Tannin is taken from insect galls and is used in the tanning of hides and in the production of permanent durable inks. Cochineal is a bright red pigment that is gained from the bodies of Coccus cacti.
Lots of insects are used for science. You may remember from high school that fruit flies are used in genetic studies. Carpet beetles will feed on almost anything organic, so researchers use them to clean skeletons and crime scene techs and morgue or forensic specialists use the presence and age of blow flies to determine time of death.
The Bigger Picture
Recently, municipalities in Satipo and Nauta in Peru approved ordinances recognizing native stingless bees and their habitat as legal subjects with rights to exist, to thrive, and to be defended in court. It’s the first time this has happened to an insect in all of recorded history, proving that they’re more or less as valuable as humans there.
When kids study insects and learn to respect them, they develop more empathy, less anxiety and grow up to be generally more responsible members of society. The hands-on experiences of locating and understanding how bugs serve in our ecosystem give them more tools for adult life.
And even if all that isn’t enough, many other bugs are valuable simply because they provide food to the other animals we prefer to eat, like chickens and fish. That’s one of the many reasons we offer our exclusive Mosquito Protection Program that turns biting mosquitoes and their offspring into vegans - so they can serve their purpose but not ruin our picnics.
For more information on No Bite Zones or our Green pest solutions that are safe for pets and family, please give us a call!