Dragonflies and damselflies are ancient insects that have been around since before the age of the dinosaurs. Some Odonata (the order that dragonflies belong to) fossils from the Carboniferous (359 to 299 million years ago) period had wingspans of over a meter. These insects were the size of modern seagulls. Scientists wondered why they got so large.

Insects are extremely important to the lives of humans. They are economically important and provide food for many people. American biologist E. O. Wilson once said: “If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed 10,000 years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos.”

Climate change is causing the loss of some insect species. Some can move to new habitats but others cannot.  The loss of insects will disrupt the ecological balance. For example, native bees are essential for pollination and climate change will reduce their abundance and diversity.

Insects are an essential part of any ecosystem as they perform so many different roles. They are pollinators, seed dispersers, soil mixers, decomposers of plants and animals, and food for so many vertebrate species.

Honey bees are our friends because they bring us one out of every three bites of food.

Read about the role that bees play in ecosystems as pollinators.  

Read: The Land Arthropods The Conquerors Coming Ashore from the Shape of Life book.

Read about the evolutionary history of arthropods from Understanding Evolution - your one stop source for information about evolution: Read about the evolutionary history of arthropods.