The world of insects
          
        
        
          Bees produce wax
        
        
          and their poison is used as medicine.
        
        
          
            141
          
        
        
          
            Become
          
        
        
          
            an expert
          
        
        
          
            142-143
          
        
        
          The
        
        
          world of
        
        
          non-insects
        
        
          
            152-153
          
        
        
          Micro
        
        
          life
        
        
          
            As old as an insect
          
        
        
          We know that
        
        
          insects were around
        
        
          40 million years ago
        
        
          because some were
        
        
          trapped in a tree resin
        
        
          called amber, which
        
        
          hardened back then
        
        
          and preserved them.
        
        
          
            Red food dye:
          
        
        
          this food
        
        
          colouring is made from
        
        
          the bodies of scale insects.
        
        
          
            Silk:
          
        
        
          believe it or not, the
        
        
          silk you wear is made by
        
        
          silk-moth caterpillars!
        
        
          
            Honey:
          
        
        
          if there were
        
        
          no bees in the world,
        
        
          we would have no honey.
        
        
          
            Food:
          
        
        
          to some people,
        
        
          such as the Australian
        
        
          aborigines, grubs are a meal.
        
        
          
            Useful insects
          
        
        
          Here are some other
        
        
          ways that insects
        
        
          are useful to us.
        
        
          Introducing insects that
        
        
          eat other insects is called
        
        
          biological pest control.
        
        
          Aphids
        
        
          breed so
        
        
          quickly that it
        
        
          is difficult to
        
        
          control them.
        
        
          
            Pest control
          
        
        
          Sometimes insects, such as
        
        
          aphids, eat huge amounts of
        
        
          our crops. The best way to get
        
        
          rid of them is to introduce
        
        
          another insect that likes
        
        
          to eat them. Ladybirds
        
        
          are often used for
        
        
          aphid pest control.
        
        
          
            Ladybird
          
        
        
          
            Aphid