Insects are essential to vertebrate life—as food, shelter and medicine | HappeningNow.news

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Insects are essential to vertebrate life—as food, shelter and medicine

While insects provide an essential food source for many vertebrate species, they're more than just a protein-laden snack. Chimpanzees use them to sterilize wounds, and herons use them as fishing bait.

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Insects serve multiple roles beyond nutrition for vertebrates. Chimpanzees use them to sterilize wounds, while herons employ them as fishing bait. Sloths depend on moths to keep algae growing in their fur, which the sloths then consume. Birds and reptiles lay eggs inside termite mounds that provide a temperature‑controlled environment, and some desert frogs live in ant nests to benefit from the humidity. These examples illustrate the diverse ecological functions insects fulfill for vertebrate species.

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