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Why we need insects: Hard evidence of evolution

November 6, 2012 | Author:AAAS member -- Freelance Writer Mary Bates, Ph.D.
large Yellow-winged Darter (Sympetrum flaveolum) from the sid

Insects - even ones we consider "pests" - are an important driving force behind rapid shifts in plant ecology and evolution. A new five-year study shows plants quickly lose defensive traits through evolution when plant-eating insects are removed from the environment.