Why are there so many insects?
It is estimated that there are currently 10 Quintillion insects on the globe, that’s about 1.4 billion bugs for each one of us.
Insects are the most diverse animal group with 6 to 10 million species contributing to 90% of all animal forms on Earth, dominating from hot deserts to snow mountains and oceans. These critters make up 75% of all animals on Earth. But why so many?
Insects are among the earliest animals living on Earth for half a billion years, their long evolution has left them to develop into diverse forms. Each time a female insect lays hundreds of eggs and larvae, it matures in a few weeks and that’s why an insect can have indefinite offsprings in its lifetime. Insects harbor a tremendous amount of genetic diversity, the different species contain a wealth of genetic data like possessing sturdy bodies called exoskeletons that shield them from vandalizing climate, they also acclimatize to the environment swiftly and can live in extreme heat, cold, acidity, and salinity due to which they are founding every ecosystem around the world.
Being small in size is something they use to their benefit, Insects require very less space i.e. an average of 400 million insects occupies only an acre of space. From pollination to food and culture insects are used everywhere. Some insects survive by feeding on wastes, dead organisms, build a niche around feces, or cater themselves to others. Insects have the power of metamorphosis, this trait helps them extend the available resources in an ecosystem so around 86% of insect species undergo complete metamorphosis. We believe that insects are creepy but 90% of them are harmless and beneficial to us and the planet because they play a vital role in the food chain. So if they disappear then we’d have no chance of long-term survival.
But a study shows that 40% of insect species have defunct.
Responses