Chimpanzees have been observed applying insects to treat their open wounds. Insects provide protection, sanitation, and shelter for vertebrates.
Nearly three-quarters of terrestrial and freshwater vertebrates consume invertebrates. More than 200 bird species utilise ants to maintain feathers or remove parasites.
Birds, reptiles, and mammals use ant nests and termite mounds to maintain stable humidity and temperatures. Dung beetles remove animal waste, a process that can make dung drier and more aerated.
Moths residing in certain bird nests consume debris, including feathers and excrement. Evidence suggests beetles fed on feathers within dinosaur nests during the Cretaceous period.
Sloths depend on moths to deposit nitrogen in their fur, which subsequently spurs algal growth. Widespread and considerable disruption of insect communities is inevitable as land use changes.
Eliza Grames stated that conserving insects will benefit all other species that rely on them. Grames also noted that insects decompose about 30% of the global carbon forest stock leaf litter and dead wood.
Pollination and seed dispersal, both functions performed by insects, represent two of the biggest limitations in forest regeneration, according to Grames. Rob Cooke warned that insect losses risk altering ecosystems by disrupting pollination and seed dispersal, weakening sanitation, and changing interactions.
Chris Elphick asserted that understanding the diverse roles insects play across vertebrates’ lives is essential for designing effective conservation strategies.
