Insect Mania

A NOTE TO WINGS...

       

What if I ask you a simple question...What is an Insect? What will be the first thing that comes to your mind? 

What would be your answer?

A creature with wings? An ugly creepy crawler? A nuisance creating insects? Mosquito? Butterflies? Just want to stay away from them? I don't like them? 

It's a long list of answers when I generally ask someone about insects. During my Night walks where I basically take my guests in search of nocturnal insects, the first thing I ask is why you booked for this activity? Or are you interested in Insects? And the most common answer I get is NO...We just want to see them but from a distance.

Have you ever tried to see the world from a different view? Like what it looks like from top of the tree or from ground? Or have you ever thought of spending most of your life inside a ball of leaf or in the mud. Well the question is have you ever tried to see the world from the eyes of an insect, or have you ever thought about the world of Insects???

Also why are butterflies, moths and dragonflies famous celebrities in the world of insects? Just because they are pretty? Do they make you happy? Are they easily observable? So what about other insects, what about their beauty? Well it's just us who made them famous but in reality there are so many insects which are way more beautiful with best behavior. Well just colorations doesn't define the beauty isn’t it?

For most of us insects are nothing but ugly caterpillars with some ugly adults or beautiful butterflies and moth.. But let me tell you if you don't think of them as a beautiful creature you are still don't know the definition of true beauty. 

Insects or for some people the creepy crawlers are the most diverse group on this planet. Insects can be found everywhere well except the arctic and Antarctica though. They can be found into the soil and in the ocean. Insects are the only creature for whom you don't have to book special safaris or wait for discount packages….as they can be seen anywhere. So when people ask me what I like the most My answer is these creepy crawlers. They make me wander around like what it actually feels like to be in their world, they make me lost that I forget about my own world. I love to take their pictures, observe them, their activity, making their small video shots, it’s like I am trying to understand what they actually are.  Also sometimes taking their pictures makes me feel like I am disturbing their privacy :) especially when they mate:) :) it feels like they are saying hey Reema why don’t you move your camera shutter and big face out of my way….

It's a long race for males to get a mate, well for females it's quite easy as for them they just have to release pheromones ( a chemical signal) which says...I am ready and looking for my love. But then the real race starts, race to win, to be the perfect mate. A war for love, in which one can lose or can even die and the winner will get to mate and pass on its genes to the next generation. But how to know whether they are mating or preparing themselves for the same. Well except for humans, males in most of the animal kingdoms are more attractive, with beautiful colours, and ornaments to display. So if you are sitting in a garden and suddenly you see an insect with a display of beautiful colours try to take a closer look and observe for a while, maybe it is looking for a mate.

But some can produce light too..a process we call bioluminescence. We all admire this insect mostly on a romantic night or dinner....and this is none other than the fireflies (Jugnoo) . The rhythmic on and off of the light is an indication, a way to signal to opposite sex. Female gives signals through this light that she is looking for a mate….but do you know that sometimes these signals can be false??Well some females which are more of a hungry one...they give false signals indicating mating but once the male enters the female captures them and kills them isn’t it cruel…. 

more cruel is when it comes to Praying mantis. Praying mantis are my favourite...more like a break-dancer for me. So again the display of cruelty is shown by the female and males just to pass on their genes they sacrifice their lives. Again in some species of spiders....where after mating for proper nutrition females eat their mate first.

Just like humans some Insects too love to be in a joint family...every individual supporting the other like honey bees, ants and termites. Whereas some love to be isolated. And it's not just the world of Insects we can see easily with our eyes there's a macro world for the miniatures who without letting anyone feel their presence do their own work more like minding their own business. 

Now it's not just about looks, it's about their Importance in the ecosystem. Acc, to an article by Nat GEO, 5 vital roles plates by Insects are…

1.  Insects are a very important part of the food chain/food web. We love birds and their songs we admire but we know this too that a huge part of their diet are insects so no insects, less birds and at one point no birds hence they are PROVIDERS. 

2. Not just food chain insects help in pollination of many species of plants and there are some specific insects which can pollinate some specific but very Important plant species for example Fig tree by Fig wasp. Most of the plant species are dependent on Insects for its pollination and they adapt them according to the need of insects and vice versa. Do you know plants guide these insects like where exact nectar is and where there is nectar there is pollen grains which again for pollination hence POLLINATORS. 

3. Insects help to increase soil fertility, termites and ants can help in retaining water in soil hot areas and their tunneling can help in aeration of soil, and add nutrients, hence SOIL ENGINEERS. 

4. A lot of insects feed on waste which helps in mixing nutrients back to soil, again termites feeding on dead wood help in mixing the nutrients back to the soil. Dung beetles are also known for their important nutrient cycle hence DECOMPOSERS.

5. Some insects feed on other insects, we use this strategy in a natural way of reducing pests from crops. We look for the predators of crop eating insects and introduce them to farms. It's a more natural way of farming, cutting pest control cost and use of toxic chemicals, hence PEST CONTROLLERS. 

Now there are many reasons not to hate them, and save them. I am not saying that you should love them but don’t harm them. If an insect enters your house by any chance stop before deciding to kill it. You can easily capture it and release them out. Even though insects cover 60%of the population in the animal kingdom some of them are on the verge of extinction. Some are vulnerable. Insect conservation is very necessary to save our planet and to maintain a balance between us and nature.

If asked, for me Insects are a symbol of life, free spirit, strength, beauty, liberty, hard work. They inspire me in a different way which makes me fall in love with them. 

 In this article I asked you many questions... I hope my readers can now think of a better answer and leave a reply in the comment section. 

Save Insects, Save Nature.