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 ©TheEditor(s)(ifapplicable)andTheAuthor(s),underexclusivelicensetoSpringerNatureSingapore PteLtd.2023 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsaresolelyandexclusivelylicensedbythePublisher,whether thewholeorpartofthematerialisconcerned,specificallytherightsoftranslation,reprinting,reuseof illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similarordissimilarmethodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped. 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The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore 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