Friends or foes?

Pollinators are undeniably friends of humans, as our food heavily depends on their hard work! Also, not only from the human point of view, buzzing from one flower to another indeed provides a good service for the environment too!

Pollination is only one of the benefits we get from insects. Honey and bee wax are produced by honeybees, silk is produced by silkworms, and many insects are used for food and feed, some even in medicine. We tend to consider these insects as friends but introducing them to new environments is not necessarily a good idea, as the following example depicts.

The unexpected consequences of beekeeping

In the last few decades, the hobby of beekeeping has surged, leading to the introduction of honeybee colonies to new regions worldwide. Despite honeybees demonstrating their value as allies to farmers and beekeepers alike, their presence has had negative effects on wild bee populations and plant-pollinator networks. Honeybees are experts at getting nectar and pollen from a variety of different flowers, so they end up taking most of it, creating exploitative competition whereby one species exhausts the available resources, leaving little for others. Moreover, commercial bee colonies frequently carry diseases and parasites. Due to their dense populations and mobility, they can spread these diseases to wild bee populations they encounter. This poses a serious threat to the health and diversity of wild bees and the ecosystems they inhabit.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend

Fear has a pivotal role in shaping our perspective on insects but what you are afraid of is not necessarily bad for your garden. For instance, social wasps are known for joining picnics without being on the guest list and are responsible for some occasional stings. Despite their insistence on getting our food, these insects are remarkable hunters and play an active ecological role in controlling herbivore populations. Therefore, we should avoid destroying their nests and preserve their habitats, such as forests. This is also true for braconid wasps. Although they might not appear as formidable as most familiar wasp species as they lack black and yellow stripes and are much smaller in size, they are still very efficient in reducing pests in our gardens. As parasitoids, they lay their eggs on or in other arthropods, leading to the host's death. Different species specialize in various insects, commonly targeting Lepidoptera, but some focus on beetles, flies, or bugs.

The good, the bad and the ugly

Appearances may deceive! Boring or dangerous-looking insects may be our best friends while beautiful insects may be a big nuisance. How well can you tell friends from foes? Have a look at the gallery below for various examples of harmful and beneficial insects.

How many of these did you guess right? To learn more about who is a friend or a foe, check out detailed articles on different insect species below.