What's the Point of Wasps?

You quite often hear things like “what’s the point of…” followed by some despised form of wildlife – wasps and slugs are contenders for top of this list.

You might as well ask ‘what’s the point of humans’ – I don’t think other species should be viewed solely as things that serve our purposes – they didn’t evolved ‘for us’ – they simply evolved – and like everything else they fit into an ecological ‘niche’.

None of us would be here if it weren’t for say - wasps.

Imagine a world with an alternative history in which wasps didn’t evolve. The effects would cascade up through the millennia to a present which would be different (to an extent we can only guess at) – humans would probably exist in some form, but I’d suggest that given individuals wouldn’t.

Insects aren’t very popular with a lot of people but without insects our ecosystems would collapse – life is interconnected and interdependent.

The tabloid press fuels a view of nature as the enemy – with lurid headlines linking wildlife with such words as ‘killer’, ‘deadly’, ‘invasion’

Our insects and other creatures are fast disappearing - our 7 billion strong species has taken over every corner of the world and we are destroying everything else at a terrifying rate – we are in the midst of the 6th great extinction and this one is man-made.

...I’d argue for a more tolerant attitude to the other creatures that share our planet …before we find there are none left.

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