When naming the most important organisms in forests insects are often forgotten. They do however play a central role in plant reproduction, soil fertility, sustained forest health and diversity.
As you might know, insects are the most crucial living things that can be found in every environment on earth. So, we can’t underestimate the ecological importance of them!
However, these “creepy-crawlies” are increasingly susceptible to extinction due to increasing climate crisis. Their extinction can have a cascading effect on the upper levels of the food pyramid. One of the reason is a rampant and indiscriminate use of chemicals in commercial agricultural practices, mainly mono-cropping systems. And also, it has been taking a toll on insects in the vicinity of farmlands and plantations.
Central Roles to Ecological Balance
Food Source – Insects are the sole food source for many animals in the rainforest. That’s because the numerous species of birds, lizards, frogs, bats, and other animals eat them to survive. It is possible that food webs could collapse if insect populations decline.
Soil Fertility – Many insects eat leaves, bark and other parts of plants. This insect excrement is deposited into the soil with the organic matter supplying nutrients into the soil for plant growth. Like, some critters will help to protect your plants from pests and adding important nutrients into the soil.
Pollination – Plants are an important part of the rainforest, and insects helping the fertilization process by transporting pollen from one plant to another.
Many plants produce nectar which attract numerous insects including butterflies, flies, and beetles. Through that, species diversity and density of insects like butterfly indicate a good diversity of plants in an area. Several types of butterflies have specific host plants. Climate change, forest degradation, habitat loss, unavailability of hosts and nectar plant species are among major reasons for a decline in butterfly population. This leads to loss of plants species that depend on the butterflies for pollination.
