Are fireflies, earthworms and scarabs beneficial insects or pests?

Insects are the most diverse and numerous group in the animal kingdom, and common ones include fireflies, earthworms, termites, scarabs and so on. So are these insects beneficial insects or pests? Beneficial insects and pests are two kinds of insects with completely opposite significance to humans: one is of considerable help to humans, while the other does considerable harm to humans.

1. Fireflies

Fireflies are also known as Yeguang, Jingtian, Ruyiyao, Yezhao, Liuying, Xiaozhu, Yaoye and so on. They belong to the order Coleoptera, family Lampyridae, and are a kind of small beetle. They are named fireflies because their tails can emit a fluorescent light. There are about nearly 2000 species of such tail-glowing insects, and the more common ones in China include Heiying, Jihongying, Chuangxiongying and several others.

Are fireflies beneficial insects or pests?

A firefly's life goes through egg, larva, pupa and adult.

When you see adult fireflies glowing, they basically no longer eat; they drink some dew, honeydew, or take pollen and nectar. Firefly larvae, however, will not touch anything without meat, and absolutely do not eat plants. Aquatic firefly larvae eat freshwater snails, while terrestrial firefly larvae eat snails, slugs, earthworms and the like, and some species also prey on small insects such as ants and termites. Of course, there are also a small number of fireflies that do not eat snails but instead eat other kinds of fireflies.

Now that we know the above, can we say fireflies are beneficial insects? They prey on agricultural pests and maintain the balance of the ecosystem. For nature, there is no such thing as good or bad; they are all indispensable members of the natural ecosystem.

2. Earthworms

Earthworms are representative animals of the class Oligochaeta, phylum Annelida, and are also known as Dilong, Qushan, Jiancan and so on. They live in humid environments and feed on decaying organic matter. Although their living environment is full of a large number of microorganisms, they rarely get sick, which is related to the unique antibacterial immune system in the earthworm's body.

Are earthworms beneficial insects or pests?

Earthworms are beneficial insects. Earthworms are called “ecosystem engineers”. Through activities such as feeding, digesting, excreting and burrowing, they form numerous reaction zones inside and outside their bodies, thereby affecting the biological, chemical and physical processes of the ecosystem. In the ecosystem, they are both consumers and decomposers, and also regulators. Earthworms swallow a large amount of soil every day, absorb the decayed leaves and very small organisms in the soil, and then excrete the soil, making the soil loose and fertile, which is very conducive to the growth of crops.

What food do earthworms eat?

Earthworms are omnivorous animals. Except for glass, plastic and rubber, they eat everything else, such as humus, animal feces, soil bacteria, fungi, and the decomposition products of these substances. They have a keen sense of taste, like sweet and sour flavors, dislike bitter flavors, like heat-decomposed soft feed, and are especially greedy for animal food. Their monthly food intake is equivalent to their own body weight, and about half of the food is excreted as feces after passing through the digestive tract.

3. Termites

Termites belong to the order Isoptera, class Insecta, phylum Arthropoda. They live socially like ants. In taxonomic status, their social system belongs to the lower hemimetabolous insects, while ants belong to the higher holometabolous insects. They are highly destructive insects that bore into and eat synthetic fibers, plastic, wires, cables and even bricks, stones, metal and so on. Termites are highly destructive insects. If termites are found at home, be sure to ask professionals to remove them.

4. Scarabs

Scarabs belong to the invertebrates, class Insecta, order Coleoptera, and are soil-dwelling pests recognized at home and abroad as difficult to control. In addition to damaging fruit trees such as pear, peach, plum, grape, apple and citrus, they also damage forest trees such as willow, mulberry, camphor and privet. Common ones include the copper-green scarab, the Korean black scarab, the tea-colored scarab, the dark black scarab and so on. Scarabs are the general name for insects in the family Scarabaeidae. More than 30000 species have been recorded worldwide, about 1200 species in North America, and about 1800 species have been recorded in China so far. These pests have many species, a wide distribution, omnivorous feeding habits, hidden lives, strong adaptability and life histories of varying lengths, making them very difficult to control. They can be found on every continent except Antarctica. Different species live in different environments, such as deserts, farmland, forests and grasslands.