Eco Centro hosted a presentation on beneficial insects native to Texas March 26, with guest speaker Molly Keck, an Entomologist with Texas A&M.

In an effort to raise awareness of the benefits insects can provide, the presentation covered various kinds of bugs and the benefits they offer humans and the environment.

“Most insects are beneficial or not harmful,” Keck said after the presentation, “Either as a pollinator, a predator, or a decomposer.”

Pollinator insects are essential for most plants to grow, predator insects hunt and kill destructive pests, and decomposer insects break down waste. Pollinator insects alone contribute an estimated $ 34 billion annually to the US, according to a study by the American Chemical Society.

“I think people need to understand that they’re part of an entire system,” Cynthia Baker, conservation coordinator at Eco Centro, said about positive insects, “and while we may only have a perspective of them being harmful in one circumstance, they often provide something beneficial.”

For more information on upcoming events at Eco Centro, visit the center’s event calendar.

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