on
reports
- Get link
- X
- Other Apps
Benefits of Insects
There are about
12,00,000 species of insects and among which 10,000 species are pests and
cause harm to us and remaining are beneficial to us. According to 2013 data of
Agriculture organization of UN, 2 billion people use insects as traditional
diet and more than 1400 species are consumed as food. Insects are pollinators
of crop, improve soil fertility through waste bio-conversion, natural bio-control
for harmful pest species and provide variety of valuable products such as
honey, silk, Maggot therapy, collection items and ornamentals and in movies,
visual arts and literature.
Benefits of insects
Insects supplies useful products such as
Honey
It is highly nutritive liquid food prepared from nectar by
several species of honey bee such as Apis
millifera, Apis dorsata, Apis cerana, Apis laboriosa, Apis florea etc. The maintenance
of honeybee for purpose of harvesting honey, wax and other useful products is
called bee keeping or apiculture. Apis
mellifera( European breed) are major producer of honey. But about 2/3rd
of world honey market is covered by dorsata
and laboriosa. Developing countries
are largest producer of honey and developed countries are largest consumer of
honey.
Bees collect nectar from flowers and store in bee stomach (crop)
until reaching to hive. In crop, nectar mixed with salivary gland containing
invertase and break into dextrose and levulose. The fluid regurgitated into
honey cell. Honey consist of water(20%) and several sugars(30-40% levulose,
30-35% dextrose, 2-5% sucrose, traces of maltose, 1-12% dextrin). Honey also
contains fatty acid, amino acids, enzymes, vitamin (A, B complex and C) and
minerals. It is used to prepare meads, a beverage similar to wines. Being alkaline
(pH>7), it doesn’t cause acidosis (excessive acid in body). Honey is widely used in preparation of baked
goods, candies, chewing gum etc. According to 2005 report, china rank 1st
in production producing 2, 98,000 tons of honey and followed by turkey and Argentina
producing 82,000 tons and 80,000 tons respectively.
Propolis
Bee gathers resin from tree bark and leaves combine with nectar
and enzymes and form propolis. It is used for sealing of hives and protecting
from outside contaminants. It is called as natural sterile environment in
animal kingdom because bee uses propolis at the entrance to the hive to sterile
themselves as they come and go. Propolis contains 50-70% resin and balsams,
30-50% wax, 5-10% bee pollen and 10% essential oil. It contains all types of
vitamins except k and all minerals required for our body except S. It contains
more bioflavonoid (vitamin p) about 500 times more than orange. It is useful in
allergic, bruises, burns, cancer, sore throats, nasal congestion, skin
disorder, flu, colds, wound, ulcers etc.
Bee pollen
Pollen is collected from flowering plant and stores in hive.
Bee collects pollen which is rich in amino acids. Bee pollen contains 55%
carbohydrates, 35% proteins, 3% minerals and vitamins, 2% fatty acids and 5%
diverse other compounds. It is taken as complete food and used for energy,
endurance, a free radical scavengers, weight control, asthma etc. It may also
have side effects include allergic reaction.
Royal jelly
It is creamy, opalescent and white liquid synthesized by
worker bees exclusively for queen. It is highly nutritive considers as crown
jewel of beehive which extend longitivity of queen from 6 week to 5 years. It
consist of abundance nutrients, minerals, vitamin B complex, protein, amino
acids, fatty acids etc. Royal jelly is marketed in capsule, soft gel and smoothing
cream. Its composition is so complex that even scientist are unable to
completely breakdown its components.
Bee wax
It is produced by specialized epidermal glands of the
abdominal sternum of worker bees and is used to construct beehive. It is
yellowish, white solid waxy material (mixture of cerotic acid and myricyle
palmitate). Almost all commercial wax available is obtained from Apis dorsata. Bee wax is used by
human civilization in 6th century for various purposes. It is now
used as cosmetics( beauty lotion, creams), ointment saving creams, floor waxes,
smokeless candle, dental wax, wax museum figures, electrics products and also for artificial comb foundation.
Silk
Silk is produced by labial glands of silkworm (caterpillars
of silk moth) to construct cocoon. The thread of silk consists of 75% of a tough
elastic protein, fibroin (inner layer) and remaining 25% of a gelatinous
protein, sericin (outer layer). The diameter of silk fiber is 450-820
micrometer. Silk thread is elastic, resistant, non-conductor of heat and
electricity and have good tensile strength. Four commercial variety of silkworm
is reared in Nepal i.e. mulberry (Bombax
mori), tasar (Antheraea mylitta), eri
(Samia Cynthia ricini) and muga (Antheraea assamensis). Silk worm feed in
leaves of host plant. Asia occupies 95% of world silk yield in which 70% by
japan, 15% by china and 1.5% by India in world production. Silk is used in
textile industry, for surgical sutures, parachutes, fishing leaders etc.
Lac
Lac is the secretion of integumental glands of scale insect kerria lacca ( homoptera, coccoidea)
which inhabits in large number of tree. Thousand number of nymph after hatching
wander around and get settle into tender branches and inject rostrum inside
shoot and begin to suck sap. After 2-3 days of settling produced resin over
their body from integumental glands and cover them by lac which serves as
protective shield. Lac is harvested by removing branches covered by lac and
grinding them. The ground lac (seed lac) is washed, bleached and dried in sun
and heated in cloth bag over open charcoal fires. As the lac melt, squeezed
into floor and quickly pressed and strengthened into thin sheets, which are
then flaked (shellac). About 20, 00,000 insects produced 1 kg lac. Lac is used
as stiffener in making shoes, shoe polish, artificial fruits and flower,
photographic products, dental plates, playing card finishes, hair dyes etc.
Natural dyes
 |
| crushed dactylopius resulting red dye |
Cochineal and lac dyes are natural dyes produced by insects.
Cochineal is a product of a scale insect,
Dactylopius coccus which lives and feeds on prickly cactus. After insects
are fully developed, brushed off by host plant and killed by hot water and sun
dried and are marketed. Cochineal is a red pigment containing 10% pure carminic
acid used as permanent dye for coloring beverage cosmetics, dyeing wool, silk
and leather. It is used as medicine for whooping cough. About 1, 50,000 insects
produced 1 kg of dye.
Lac dye is byproduct from wash
water of lac industry. It contains laccaic acid, a water soluble red dye used
for dyeing of wool, silk and cotton.
Insect galls
Insect makes gall in the host by
the result of oviposition (laying eggs) and thus injured plant. Galls are
powerful vegetable astringent and antidote for many poisons. Galls are richest
source of tannic acid (30-70%), a substance widely used in tanning, dyeing and
preparation of inks.
Comments
Post a Comment