Some insects have symbiotic relationships with microbes
Chris Hellier / Alamy Stock Photo
Insects make up half of all animals on the planet and much of their evolutionary success appears to be linked to the microbes they host inside their bodies. Not only have these bacteria led to insects with ecologically unique diets – from blood-slurping bed bugs to wood-nibbling mites – but they have also played a key role in the variety across insect species.
“The microbes themselves are the real driving mechanism behind that process of diversification,” says Lee Henry at Queen Mary University of London.
Researchers …
