Insect Macro Photography

Insectivorous insects, or insects which feed on other insects, are beneficial to humans because they eat insects that could cause damage to agriculture and human structures. For example, aphids feed on crops and cause problems for farmers, but ladybugs feed on aphids, and can be used as a means to get significantly reduce pest aphid populations. While birds are perhaps more visible predators of insects, insects themselves account for the vast majority of insect consumption. Without predators to keep them in check, insects can undergo almost unstoppable population explosions.
Many insects, especially beetles, are scavengers that feed on dead animals and fallen trees and thereby recycle biological materials into forms found useful by other organisms. Insects are responsible for much of the process by which topsoil is created. The ancient Egyptian religion considered dung beetles sacred, and represented them as beetle-shaped amulets, or scarabs. Dung beetles have been used in countries including Australia as an agent of biological pest control to reduce the populations of pestilent flies and parasitic worms. The Australian Dung Beetle Project successfully introduced 23 species of dung beetle, including Onthophagus gazella and Euoniticellus intermedius from South Africa and Europe. This resulting in a 90% reduction in bush flies as well as improved soil fertility and quality.
Insects are also used in medicine, for example fly larvae (maggots) were formerly used to treat wounds to prevent or stop gangrene, as they would only consume dead flesh. This treatment is finding modern usage in some hospitals. Adult insects, such as crickets, and insect larvae of various kinds are also commonly used as fishing bait.