Insects as Service Providers

340 Pages·2022·7.826 MB·English

by  Omkar

Omkar Editor
Insects as
Ser vice
Providers
Insects as Service Providers
Omkar
Editor
Insects as Service Providers
Editor
Omkar
DepartmentofZoology
UniversityofLucknow
Lucknow,UttarPradesh,India
ISBN978-981-19-3405-6 ISBN978-981-19-3406-3 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-3406-3
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Insect Service Providers
Insects are one of the most successful groups of organisms that occupy almost all
known ecological niches except those in oceans. The success of insects can be
attributed to their small size, chitinous exoskeleton—made of chitin and proteins,
three pairs of jointed appendages, presence of two pairs of wings, metamorphosis,
oligophagy/polyphagyinmostspecies,differentmodesofreproduction,highfecun-
dity and high fertility, short generation time and rapid adaptation, and methods of
solvingwaterproblem.Thechitinousexoskeletoncoverslikeanarmorsuit.Itsolves
water problem by wax layers ofcuticle, metabolic water, condense water from air,
and conserve water by excreting pellets of uric acid. Jointed appendages are spe-
cializedforrunning,jumping,grasping,swimming,anddigging.Smallsizehelpsin
easierhiding,easierdispersal,andlessfood.Metamorphosisallowsoneorganismto
utilizemultiplehabitatsortobemorespecialized.Mostofthemundergodiapauses
during extreme summer and winter. Their defense includes flying away or scare
awayandhidinginplainplaces.
Someinsectsareverybeautifulcreatureslikebutterflies,ladybirdbeetles,etc.Yet
theyoftenhavebeenassociatedwithnegativeconnotationsbecauseasmallfraction
(1%)ofthemisharmfultohumanbeings,aspestsandvectors.Pestscauseeconomic
damagetocropyields;storedproductsandvectorsareresponsibleforthetransmis-
sion of disease-causing agents in human beings as well as the livestock. Though
majorityofthemarebeneficialandhumancouldhavehardlysurvivedwithoutthem.
Majority of insects are beneficial to human beings by the ways of serving as
ecofriendly tools as parasitoids and predators in the biological control of insect
pests and vectors, reducing the use of agrochemicals in modern agriculture, and
protecting the environment. Insects facilitate crop pollination and increase the
agricultural yield. They are farmers’ friends. They serve as delicious food for
human population across the world, provide pharmaceuticals and ecosystem ser-
vices,andserveasscavengers.Theyareusedindiseasetherapyandwoundhealing.
Insectsarehelpfulincriminalinvestigationsandasbestmodelsforresearchandin
technologyinnovations.Theyyieldvarioustypesofsilks,lac,honey,propolis,wax,
etc.Theyarealsopromotinginsecttourism,recreations,andculture.But,inspiteof
v
vi InsectServiceProviders
their great value to human life, there is no book exclusively dedicated to these
differentbeneficialaspectsofinsects.Inviewofthis,Ihavedecidedtobringouta
book completely dedicated to and giving a comprehensive account of Insect As
ServiceProviders.
Thisbookissodesignedthateachchapterhasbeenwrittenbyseniorspecialists
for better and valuable information. This is a unique book highlighting the role of
insectsprovidingvarioushuman,environmental,recreational,aesthetic,andcultural
services. It is hoped that the proposed book will give a comprehensive account of
insects as service providers, to present quite different aspects of insects for the
readership,andmostimportantlycultivateanincreasingappreciationandconserva-
tionofinsects.Thisbookwillbeusefultoundergraduateandpostgraduatestudents
of Entomology, Agricultural Zoology and Zoology, to those appearing in specific
competitiveexaminations,andtothoseinvolvedinthepolicyplanning.
At the very outset, I am extremely thankful to the contributors of this book for
acceptingmyinvitation,sparingtheirinvaluabletimetocompletetheworkintime
tothebest their ability, andmakingrevisions ofrespective chaptersaspersugges-
tions.IamalsothankfultoDr.GeetanjaliMishraforvaluableinputs,Dr.PriyaSingh
for kind assistance in the cross checking of references; and the members of our
researchteamDr.SwatiSaxena,ApoorvaShandilya,ChandniVerma,TriptiYadav,
Shriza Rai, Lata Verma, Dipali Gupta, Gaurvanvita Singh, Priya Yadav, Mohd.
Sariq and Sanjeev Kumar for helping me in various ways during this work. I am
thankful to my wife, Mrs. Kusum Upadhyay, for managing the home front and
sparing me to complete the task in time. Last but not least, I express my thanks to
Ms.AakanshaTyagi,SeniorEditor(Acquisition),SpringerNature,NewDelhi,for
takingkeeninterestinthisprojectandbringingthebookintime.
Lucknow,India Omkar
Contents
Insects:TheUnrecognizedHeroes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
GeetanjaliMishraandOmkar
PartI InsectsinProvisioning
InsectsinEnvironmentalEngineeringandEcosystemServices. . . . . . . 11
BhupendraKumarandOmkar
InsectsasCropPollinators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
GauravaKumarandMohammadSarfrazKhan
InsectsasHumanFood. . . .. . . . .. . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . .. 65
ApoorvaShandilya,GeetanjaliMishra,andOmkar
InsectTherapists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
GeetanjaliMishraandOmkar
InsectToxinsandTheirBioprospecting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
TriptiYadavandGeetanjaliMishra
PartII InsectsProvidingSupportingServices
InsectsinForensicInvestigations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
MeenakshiBhartiandDevinderSingh
InsectsinResearchandInnovation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
S.ShabiheRazaBaqri
InsectsinScientificResearchAdvancement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
SwatiSaxenaandOmkar
vii
viii Contents
PartIII InsectsProvidingCulturalServices
InsectTourism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
AmitaKanaujia,AdeshKumar,andShrizaRai
InsectsinCulture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
ShrizaRai,GeetanjaliMishra,andOmkar
InsectsinRecreation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
MeenakshiBhartiandHimenderBharti
Contributors
S.ShabiheRazaBaqri DepartmentofZoology,ShiaPGCollege,Lucknow,India
Himender Bharti Department of Zoology and Environmental Sciences, Punjabi
University,Patiala,India
Meenakshi Bharti Department of Zoology and Environmental Sciences, Punjabi
University,Patiala,Punjab,India
AmitaKanaujia DepartmentofZoology,UniversityofLucknow,Lucknow,India
Mohammad Sarfraz Khan Department of Entomology, GB Pant University of
AgricultureandTechnology,Pantnagar,India
AdeshKumar DepartmentofZoology,UniversityofLucknow,Lucknow,India
BhupendraKumar DepartmentofZoology,BanarasHinduUniversity,Varanasi,
India
Gaurava Kumar Department of Entomology, GB Pant University of Agriculture
andTechnology,Pantnagar,India
Geetanjali Mishra Department of Zoology, University of Lucknow, Lucknow,
India
Omkar DepartmentofZoology,UniversityofLucknow,Lucknow,India
ShrizaRai DepartmentofZoology,UniversityofLucknow,Lucknow,India
SwatiSaxena DepartmentofZoology,UniversityofLucknow,Lucknow,India
Apoorva Shandilya Department of Zoology, University of Lucknow, Lucknow,
India
Devinder Singh Department of Zoology and Environmental Sciences, Punjabi
University,Patiala,Punjab,India
TriptiYadav DepartmentofZoology,UniversityofLucknow,Lucknow,India
ix
Insects: The Unrecognized Heroes
GeetanjaliMishraandOmkar
LearningObjectives
1. Tolearnaboutwhyinsectsareimportant?
2. Tolearnecosystemservicesprovidedbyinsects.
3. To learn how insect extinction will lead to loss of multiple ecosystem
services?
4. To learn why creating awareness of insect importance for well being is
essential?
5. Tolearnwhysavinginsectsisessential?
1 Introduction
Theworldofinsectsisaratherfascinatingone.Knownfortheirsheernumbersand
variety, these most abundant neighbours are often reviled for their ability to cause
massive economic losses to humans and their livestock. However, what most
amateurandprofessionalentomologistshavefailedtotalkaboutuntilveryrecently
ishowamajorityoftheknowninsectspeciesactuallybenefittheecosystemandby
extensionhumans.
Ecosystem services are beneficial functions and goods from ecosystems, that
enhance the quality of human life directly or indirectly (Harrington et al., 2010;
Duffusetal.,2021).Theseinclude,food,fibre,water,regulationoffloods,diseases
and climate, organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling, pest management,
andculturalservicesassociatedwithrecreationoreducation(MilleniumEcosystem
Assessment,2005;Díazetal.,2015).
G.Mishra·Omkar(*)
DepartmentofZoology,UniversityofLucknow,Lucknow,India
©TheAuthor(s),underexclusivelicensetoSpringerNatureSingaporePteLtd.2023 1
Omkar(ed.),InsectsasServiceProviders,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-3406-3_1