think twice before you swat a fly or squash a bug: a new study says insects contribute more than $57 billion (euro47 billion) a year to the u.s. economy.

　　think twice before you swat a fly or squash a bug: a new study says insects contribute more than $57 billion (euro47 billion) a year to the u.s. economy.

　　and that is a very conservative estimate, said john losey, a cornell university associate professor of entomology who conducted the study, published in the current issue of the journal bioscience.

　　"most insects tirelessly perform functions that improve our environment and lives in ways that scientists are only beginning to understand,'' said losey, who wrote the study with mace vaughan of the portland, oregon-based xerces society for invertebrate conservation.

　　there are more than 1 million named insect species _ and probably an equal number unidentified _ making them the most abundant life form on the planet.

　　the study focused on four particular services that bugs provide, and what the cost would be if the insects were gone:

　　nutrition for wildlife. the researchers looked at how much is spent annually on observing or hunting wildlife, and how much these animals depend on insects for food. value: $50 billion (euro41.3 billion).

　　pest control. insects often prey on other insects. the researchers looked at the amount of damage done by pests, and the losses that would result if their predators disappeared. value: $4.5 billion (euro3.7 billion).

　　pollination. the researchers looked at the value of crops that are insect-pollinated (not including crops pollinated by domesticated honeybees). value: $3 billion (euro2.5 billion).

　　dung burial. if not for dung beetles, manure on grazing land would attract more flies and parasites that farmers would have to control. also, dung beetles help return nutrients to the soil. without them, farmers would have to spend more on fertilizer. value: $380 million (euro314 million).

　　the study focused only on wild insects and did not count the value of commercially produced insect-derived products, such as honey and silk.

　　lawrence abrahamson, an entomologist at the state university of new york, agreed the $57 billion (euro47 billion) figure is conservative.

　　"most people think of insects and go yuck. they think about mosquitoes and flies. they don't realize just about everything in life is affected some way, somehow, by insects,'' he said.

　　"小昆虫本领大"英语作文译文:

　　当你挥动苍蝇拍想要打死一只苍蝇或臭虫时，最好三思而后行。因为一项最新的研究结果显示，昆虫每年给美国经济带来的贡献竟然超过了570亿美元之多。

　　据美联社日前报道，这项研究的负责人、美国科内尔大学的昆虫学副教授约翰·罗赛对此表示，不仅如此，而且上述数字还是一个非常保守的估计。他说：“大部分昆虫都在不知疲倦地行使着改善人们生活环境的职责，而它们所用的这些方式科学家们才刚刚开始了解。”

　　目前，有超过100万种已命名的昆虫种类，而且可能还有相同数量的未经确认的昆虫，这使它们成为地球上生活方式最为丰富多彩的物种。