Often overlooked, sometimes squashed; insects are not the most loved species, but bug lovers Rebecca Cawood and Garyn Townsend insist that these little creatures have a crucial role to play on this planet.
Cawood and Townsend, both Master’s students in entomology at Rhodes University, held a one-day insect show and tell, displaying a handful of creepy crawlies at the East London Zoo on Thursday. Stars of the show included live Madagascan hissing cockroaches, crickets, and a pinned collection of insects ranging from bees to butterflies and dragonflies.
Townsend says people need to know just how vital insects are to the ecosystem.
“Everyone comes to the zoo to look at the big animals, but they don’t realise how important insects are. They are so diverse and there are so many of them that they form the biggest part of the food chain. Without insects, there wouldn’t be anything to eat,” he said.
The first insects, believed to have come out of the sea over 480million years ago, were trilobites. These, he said, diverged into the many different types of insects found today. “They have become the most successful group of insects on the planet – 80% of all species today originated from this group. They are everywhere.”
Townsend said that while many humans feared most kinds of insects, only 1% were actually harmful to humans.
“The other 99% are beneficial to humans. Without insects like bees pollinating, we would descend to famine. They are far more important than people realise, and they give us a lot more than we think. Just because they are small, we disregard them.”
Cawood said they hoped to have more informative sessions next year at the EL Zoo to on bug and insect life.
“There’s a lot of negativity associated with insects such as uncleanliness caused by lack of knowledge. We hope to introduce more people to the benefits of insects.”..