Equating insects and health is not my attempt at an April Fool’s joke. Honest. There’s a connection – a BIG connection – to our healthy aging and the little critters. I wasn’t totally shocked when I learned that insects represent 80% (4/5th) of the world’s animal species. That’s a lot. In winter, insect thoughts take a back-seat, but as summer begins to approach, their little heads make an appearance and often grab a front row view. Here are a few considerations about insects, in terms of the Good – the Bad – and the Ugly.
The Good
The good may seem a bit harder to find at first blush, right? I’ll start with the obvious health connection – fruits and vegetables. Without pollinators (like butterflies or bees) these lifeline edibles would be lost to us. Under ‘good’ you can’t get much better. ‘Lucky’ ladybugs are known as the gardener’s best friend as they devour harmful smaller insects; ‘lucky’ for the many of us who count on their steady assistance. Still, let’s change tract.
In #2 of One Dozen Things Learned During 2018 , I mentioned I wouldn’t suggest that we eat butterflies. But no doubt, you have heard news about possible human food sources augmented with insects – on purpose, not just haphazardly through unsanitary production.
How about this, IF you were willing to eat insects (just a change in cultural judgment, insight and a few new recipes would be needed), you could ‘enjoy’ an inexpensive protein source. Most insects are very high in protein. Take the termite for example. I will assume no one wants the ‘raw’ percentage, but if cooked (such as fried or smoked, any method reducing water) they are 37% protein. That’s encouraging in light of relentless overpopulation of humans in the world compared to nutritional resources. Also good to know since most people accidently eat a couple pounds of insects in their lives. Bon appétit.
The Bad
It’s difficult to escape all the ‘bad’ in the insect world; there is plenty of it. Since I concentrate more on health, I will skip the agricultural issue of bad. I’ll skip it except to mention that ‘bad’ insects can affect our food supplies (infestations of fields, swarming on crops, pollution of water or infiltration of products), and they encourage chemical insecticide use, which is generally not the healthiest.
That sounds ‘bad’ enough. Still, what about examples of disease related to insects; here the bad gets worse. Consider these (limited) examples.
| Dengue Fever – mosquito | EEE – Eastern Equine Encephalitis – mosquito |
| Lyme’s Disease – ticks (global warming is increasing the season and locations of this issue). |
Malaria –mosquito |
| Plagues (still with us, are infections of different body areas.) Some include pneumonic plague, bubonic plague or septicemic plague. There are various transmitters – fleas being most notorious. |
Saint Louis Encephalitis – mosquito |
| Sleeping Sickness – tsetse flies | Typhus –fleas, body lice (not head), ticks & mites |
| ‘Valley Fever’ – mosquito [Rift Valley fever, affecting humans & livestock. More common in dry areas like Africa. In US more common type Valley fever – aka cociodiomyocosis, is usually transmitted by soil fungus.] |
West Nile Virus – mosquito. (Birds are hosts, but transmitter is the mosquito). |
| Yellow fever – mosquito | Zika Virus (sometimes called Azeka) – mosquito |
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Note that many of these diseases have similar vectors, mosquitos and ticks (and relatives).
Why am I sounding like a watch list for the CDC? Because while outbreaks of such illnesses are a public health matter, there are things we can do to protect ourselves. Most protective measures you are accustomed to reading; some you may know but don’t oblige. Consider that as climate change worsens, it is estimated that unfortunately, so will these insect-carried diseases. [For instance, ticks, which carry the sometimes-difficult-to-diagnosis Lyme’s Disease, will have a wider range and longer season.] A little more attention to our behavior may be in order, especially when symptoms of such sicknesses are often worse in older age.
Some of the Common Tips
- Limit exposure dust-to-dawn during ‘bug season’ (focus most outdoor activities to daytime if possible).
- Wear long sleeve shirts and long pants (especially at night and in fields or woods).
- Wear socks and closed toed shoes after dark.
- Cover or drain yard/patio water receptacles (most important if it is not on an automatic timer to recirculate its water).
- Clear gutters (they can be amazing breeding grounds).
- Use outdoor – electric ‘zappers’ if sitting outside, when electricity is available. If not (or if camping), I highly recommend one portable product I have used: The ThermaCell Repellent. It has an ‘Earth Scent’ just in case you are wondering, and does need refills, which don’t last THAT long but are certainly sufficient throughout a night or two. Check it out for yourself; prices can vary greatly.
The Major Tip
If you aren’t an outdoor person with camping gear and paraphernalia for outside adventures, you may not be aware of Permethrin. You need to be. This easy to find product can be used on clothing and outdoor gear (even tents). It protects against both ticks AND mosquitos. For less than $10 you can spray a good deal of your wardrobe. The do-it-yourself sprays generally say that an application lasts about 2 weeks. [Specially designed clothing items purchased with protection last much longer.] Strength of the Permethrin products is usually about 0.5% The most important thing to remember is that THESE SPRAYS ARE NOT FOR USE ON THE SKIN. [I mention this because permethrin is sometimes prescribed as a cream to treat scabies – caused by mites – but is not for regular use, nor skin-applied insect protection.]
The Ugly
Insects can be ‘ugly;’ most folks would agree. They simply aren’t as cute as kittens or puppies. But much of that reaction is cultural, and determined by our sense of beauty or repulsion. Still, I didn’t agree with the list of 99 ugly bugs (a collection by “Craig and Sons Termite” and posted on Pinterest); I found it much more interesting than ugly. Yet, I would take odds that most of us would agree with a list called ‘25 stunningly-beautiful insects.’ I suspect that if you are employed in a research world of insects, or conversely work in the bug termination industry, your views will be quite different. Our emotional reactions and opinions (as with most things) come from our perspective and familiarity with them. Perhaps like many times in life we subconsciously rate them due to their structure and proportion (like babies – of all kinds – with big eyes) or faces with perfect symmetry. Whatever the answer, it is clear we all differ on our bug attraction or aversion. We’ll just agree that some are indeed ‘ugly.’
More ugly however, is what’s happening TO them – a triple whammy: climate change, disruptive land uses, and pesticides. These compounding factors are taking their toll on beneficial insects (like bees and butterflies); not so much on harmful types. Insect decline is not as ‘charismatic’ as other environmental issues, yet, warning bells should be tolling. Trees, plants and crops are vital to our land, water, air and life – but if insects are not there to feed, spread seeds and pollinate, we have a problem. According to the Xerces Society, studies reveal a 97% decline in Monarch butterflies since the 1980s, and another study showed almost 15% decline last year alone. When we couple that kind of decline with the reminder that 2 out of every 3 species on earth are insects, it’s clear we could lose the benefits they provide us. Without their diversity, and if their decline continues, it can trigger a cascading collapse of our ecosystem. Chances are, if accelerated by a changing climate, such ruin could happen more quickly than we can imagine. Indeed, this could be the ugliest insect issue of all. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) a solution takes a village. Enough said.
FINAL THOUGHT
You may not be ready to feast on insects (barbecued or not – which some large insects are), nor ready to make one your pet. However, the bigger take-aways here are the good and bad for our health, and what we can do.
Good: We surely enjoy the labors of our little friends through dietary variety, and as always ought to increase our consumption of ‘their’ products (honey, nuts, fruits, vegetables).
If “vegetables” surprised you in that list, remember that many of them start with a flower (including cucumbers, eggplant, many melons, okra, squashes). These veggie-flowers need pollinators. Undersized or misshaped vegetables can be a sign of incomplete pollination. [Tip: planting flowers nearby is one way to assist and attract the pollinators to your garden, or vegetable pots.]
Bad: Due to older age, longer infectious-insect seasons and wider ranges of their impact (amplified by warming issues), an extra step toward prevention now is vital – but doable. Home maintenance and clothing selections are a great self-defense.
Keep the good, fight the bad, remember ugly is a matter of “taste” (and choices).
If we take some small actions,
we don’t have to let it all bug us.
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Picture credit: Lady Bug by Schwoaze via Pixabay
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