Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Man and Insects – Altruism and above


Affiliations
1 Department of Zoology, University of Madras, Guindy Campus, Chennai 600 025, India
 

We are constantly amazed by various aesthetic and utilitarian services rendered by the members of class Insecta. Not just services, but they also enlighten us with fundamental philosophies of life. As an illustration, the metamorphosis of caterpillars to stunning butterflies whispers into our ears the significance of transformation and hope, ants moving in rows underpins the relevance of teamwork. They also form an integral component of the food web and act as scavengers. An attempt has been made to showcase the grandeurs of insects. Above all, the greatest challenge to us is conserving them as the very existence of insects is obligatory, for humankind will disappear without them!.

Keywords

Insects, Mankind, Scavengers, Value-Added Products.
User
Notifications
Font Size

  • Grimaldi, D. et al., Evolution of the Insects, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2005.
  • https://www.sci.news/paleontology/article00314.html
  • Cane, J. H., Lifetime monetary value of individual pollinators: the bee Habropoda laboriosa at rabbit eye blueberry (Vaccinium ashei Reade). Acta Hortic., 1997, 446, 67–70.
  • Van Itterbeeck, J. and Pelozuelo, L., How many edible insect species are there? A not so simple question. Diversity, 2022, 14, 143.
  • Castro-López, C. et al., An insight to fermented edible insects: a global perspective and prospective. Food Res. Int., 2020, 137, 109750.
  • Rumpold, B. A. and Schlüter, O., Insect-based protein sources and their potential for human consumption: nutritional composition and processing. Anim. Front., 2015, 5, 20–24.
  • Mahajan, S. S. et al., Nutritional aspects of entomophagy as future food for livelihoods. IJAAS, 2022, 7, 18–24.
  • Sales-Campos, H. et al., An overview of the modulatory effects of oleic acid in health and disease. Mini Rev. Med. Chem., 2013, 13, 201–210.
  • Tang, C. et al., Edible insects as a food source: a review. FPPN, 2019, 1, 1–13.
  • Kouřimská, L. and Adámková, A., Nutritional and sensory quality of edible insects. NFS J., 2016, 4, 22–26.
  • Laurance, W. F. and Engert, J., Sprawling cities are rapidly encroaching on Earth’s biodiversity. PNAS, 2022, 119, e2202244119.
  • Van Huis, A. and Oonincx, D. G. A. B., The environmental sustainability of insects as food and feed. A review. Agron. Sustain. Dev., 2017, 37, 43.
  • www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/dalbook.html
  • Sharma, S. et al., Insect pests and crop losses. In Breeding Insect Resistant Crops for Sustainable Agriculture, Springer, Singapore, 2017, pp. 45–66.
  • Thurman, J. H. et al., Weaver ants provide ecosystem services to tropical tree crops. Front. Ecol. Evol., 2019, 7, 120.
  • Miller, G. L. et al., Lacewings and scale insects: a review of predator/prey associations between the Neuropterida and Coccoidea (Insecta: Neuroptera, Raphidioptera, Hemiptera). Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am., 2004, 97, 1103–1125.
  • Kalyanasundaram, M. and Kamala, I. M., Parasitoids. In Eco Friendly Pest Management for Food Security (ed. Omkar), Elsevier, USA, 2016, pp. 109–138.
  • https://ipm.ucanr.edu/natural-enemies/trichogramma-parasitoids/
  • Colmenarez, Y. et al., Use of parasitoids as a biocontrol agent in the neotropical region: challenges and potential. In Horticultural Crops, Intech Open, London, 2018, pp. 171–185.
  • Stankiewicz, M. et al., Nervous system of Periplaneta americana cockroach as a model in toxinological studies: a short historical and actual view. J. Toxicol., 2012, 2012, 143740.
  • Mikulak, E. et al., Galleria mellonella L. as model organism used in biomedical and other studies. Przegl. Epidemiol., 2018, 72, 57–73.
  • Wang, X. et al., The locust genome provides insight into swarm formation and long-distance flight. Nat. Commun., 2014, 5, 2957.
  • Panthee, S. et al., Advantages of the silkworm as an animal model for developing novel antimicrobial agents. Front. Microbiol., 2017, 8, 373.
  • Adamski, Z. et al., Beetles as model organisms in physiological, biomedical and environmental studies – a review. Front Physiol., 2019, 10, 319.
  • McKnight, B. E., The Washing Away of Wrongs: Forensic Medicine in Thirteenth-Century China, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1981, p. 181.
  • Catts, E. P. and Goff, M. L., Forensic entomology in criminal investigations. Annu. Rev. Entomol., 1992, 37, 253–272.
  • Weiss, H. B., Entomological medicaments of the past. J. N. Y. Entomol. Soc., 1947, 55, 155–168.
  • Costa-Neto, E. M., Entomotherapy or the medicinal use of insects. J. Ethnobiol., 2005, 25, 93–114.
  • Mohd Zubir, M. Z. et al., Maggot therapy in wound healing: a systematic review. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 2020, 17, 6103.
  • Eteraf-Oskouei, T. and Najafi, M., Traditional and modern uses of natural honey in human diseases: a review. Iran J. Basic Med. Sci., 2013, 16, 731–742.
  • Gudger, E. W., Stitching wounds with the mandibles of ants and beetles. A minor contribution to the history of surgery. JAMA, 1925, 84, 1861–1864.
  • https://earthlife.net/insects/ancient-entomotherapy
  • Bhuvaragavan, S. et al., Insect galectin stimulates the human CD4+ T cell proliferation by regulating inflammation (T cell and monocyte) through Th2 immune response. Process Biochem., 2023, 125, 15–35.

Abstract Views: 194

PDF Views: 79




  • Man and Insects – Altruism and above

Abstract Views: 194  |  PDF Views: 79

Authors

Nivetha Ramanathan
Department of Zoology, University of Madras, Guindy Campus, Chennai 600 025, India
Janarthanan Sundaram
Department of Zoology, University of Madras, Guindy Campus, Chennai 600 025, India

Abstract


We are constantly amazed by various aesthetic and utilitarian services rendered by the members of class Insecta. Not just services, but they also enlighten us with fundamental philosophies of life. As an illustration, the metamorphosis of caterpillars to stunning butterflies whispers into our ears the significance of transformation and hope, ants moving in rows underpins the relevance of teamwork. They also form an integral component of the food web and act as scavengers. An attempt has been made to showcase the grandeurs of insects. Above all, the greatest challenge to us is conserving them as the very existence of insects is obligatory, for humankind will disappear without them!.

Keywords


Insects, Mankind, Scavengers, Value-Added Products.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv125%2Fi3%2F241-246