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Insects and recycling
Name: Pleasant Lane
Status: Other
Age: N/A
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: N/A
Question:
How do insects help us with recycling?
Replies:
Insects are important recyclers of natural materials such as the leaves that
fall in a forest. Without insect larvae and other "decomposers," leaves would
just pile up forever, or until a fire got rid of them. Instead, these tiny
animals break the big pieces down into smaller pieces, which are then chewed
up by even smaller animals like bacteria and microbes, or plants like
mushrooms and toadstools. The forest litter is thus "recycled" or turned into
soil, which helps the trees grow. When farmers or gardeners want to put that
kind of recycling to work in order to enrich their soil, it is called
"composting." Insects like beetles and their larvae worm-like larvae, as well
as true worms like night-crawlers help keep a compost heap well ventilated by
burrowing holes, and they also help break the bigger pieces into smaller
pieces. Some kinds of insects (especially house flies) and cockroaches) just
love to eat garbage, which is kind of disgusting but it does help get rid of
the garbage!
Mortis
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Update: June 2012
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