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Although they have a well-earned reputation as crop-killers and disease spreaders, insects do far more good than harm. They keep systems functioning on our little planet by breaking down organic matter, pollinating flowering plants and providing food for fish, birds and mammals.

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A recent study conducted through Cornell University attempts to assign a dollar figure to the services provided by wild insects. The findings, published in the journal Bioscience, conservatively estimate that these services are worth at least $57 billion USD to the American economy every year.

This figure only includes four services: dung disposal, control of crop pests, pollination and providing food for wildlife, like birds. It does not include many less-obvious or hard-to-calculate services, nor does it include domesticated insect labours such as the honey made by domesticated bees. Had these also been included, researchers say the total would be in the hundreds of billions.

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According to the report, by far the most economically valuable service provided by insects (at least, the most readily quantifiable) is as a source of food for other wildlife. Many outdoor recreational activities, from hunting to fishing and birdwatching, depend either directly or indirectly on insects as the main source of protein in the food chain. This service alone is estimated to be worth more than $50 billion a year.

Unfortunately, not all is well in the insect world. Diseases, parasites, insecticide use and loss of habitat have resulted in substantial die-off offs in beneficial insect species, such as bees. In fact, five species of bumblebee have disappeared from the U.S. in the past six years.

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