Why Insects Matter: Earth's Most Essential Species [Audiobook]

In many ways, insects are just like us. Elaborate mating rituals, a variety of parenting styles, and a plethora of careers - from architects and engineers, to farmers and ranchers. Like us, they're able to share complex information essential for survival, significantly impact their environment, and recycle. But insects outdo us in so many respects. They are terrestrial, but some can live underwater. Their six legs are great for walking or running, but some can glide through the rainforest canopy, and many can fly. And some can create a material many times stronger than steel. The truth is, our planet belongs to the insects. Taken all together, they out-number us, out-weigh us, and could quite possibly out-last us. They are by far the most diverse group of organisms on Earth, with more than 1,000,000 species identified, as of now - 2,000 times more species than the mammals. In fact, beetles alone account for 23 percent of all plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi combined.