Explain the role of small insects in the decay of fresh organic matter.
Answers
Blow flies, house flies and soldier flies lay their eggs on manure and animal carcasses, and their offspring, called maggots, serve to consume and reduce these materials to nothing more than nutrients in the soil. It's all part of the natural cycle of life
Answer:
The final installment in our four-part series on the insect roles in the landscape will cover a topic that isn’t necessarily recognized as a role that insects play – breaking down organic matter and facilitating its return to the soil as nutrients. Sure, we think of fungi and bacteria that grow on dead trees and plants and break them down, but insects help with this, too!
Some of the more common insect decomposers include rhinoceros beetles, termites and flies.
How many times have you turned a compost pile or opened a rotting tree and found giant grub worms inside? Those are rhinoceros beetle larvae. In the San Antonio area, they feed on decomposing organic material in the soil for two years, including plant materials, animal manure and rotting wood. They grow to more than three inches in length and the diameter of a thumb – certainly enough to startle any gardener. Rhino beetles are related to the damaging June beetle whose larvae (white grubs) feed on grass roots, but rhino beetle grubs are much larger and completely harmless to any landscape or garden plants and trees. They make great fish bait, too!