Role of Insects in the Environment

The struggle between man and insects began long before the dawn of civilization, has continued without cessation to the present time, and will continue, no doubt, as long as the human race endures. It is due to the fact that both men and certain insect species constantly want the same things at the same time.1

Yet another early author echoed these same sentiments, but was perhaps even a bit more pessimistic when he noted that,

But. . . there is a war, not among human beings, but between all humanity and certain forces that are arrayed against it. . . [In fact,] the enormous forces of injurious insects which attack him from every point. . . constitute today his greatest rivals in the control of nature. . . If human beings are to continue to exist, they must first gain mastery over insects. . . Insects are better equipped to occupy the earth than are human beings. . .2

In line with the above, this paper will present an overview of both beneficial and injurious insects. It will begin by giving a synopsis of the relationship between insects and humans, proceed to a section on insects and their environments, and focus on both beneficial and injurious

. . .
sects began. By the late 1700s, for example, scholarly work had begun on such topics as The Description and History of the Cankerworm. The author of that study, William D. Peck, is thus credited with being the first native entomologist.6 One of the reasons that insects have been so successful is their peculiar ability to adapt to a wideranging environmental situation. For instance, insects have the largest number of species in the animal kingdom, and there are between two and three times as many species of insects as all other animals combined. Since insects inhabit every single region inhabited by mankind, it is necessary to analyze why they are able to thrive and prosper. In addition, insects, . . . also possess a great diversity of structures and life cycles. The three most significant features of insects are: (1) there small size, which allows them to live in sites too restricted for many other animals and which permits them to flourish on small quantities of _____________________ 6 Pfadt, 5. food, (2) their short life, which makes it possible for them to complete a life cycle in sites that are benign for only a short time, and (3) their great mobility, particularly their ability to fly, which enables them to trave
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
William Peck, Environment Ibid, McGraw Hill, , Importance Ibid, Blandford Press, Black Death, York Macmillan, York Doubleday, Harper Row, beneficial insects, insect pests, insects york, insect ecology, atomic energy, pest control, biological pest control, biological pest, ecology joint division, blandford press, press 1985, ecology proceedings panel, injurious insects, panel insect ecology, proceedings panel insect,
Approximate Word count = 1899
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

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