The economic value of ecological regulating services provided by agricultural insects in China

Society has recognized the value of ecosystem services. Insects are one of the most diverse groups, playing a significant role in maintaining ecosystem function and ecological balance, and fulfilling human demands. Insect ecological services are the functional roles in ecosystem processes, benefiting humans with goods and services such as pollination, pest control and decomposition. The economic value of insect ecological services can be divided into direct-, indirect-, option- and existence values. The ecological regulating services of insects involve pollination, biological control and dung burial. This paper discusses the concept and categorization of insect ecosystem services, including an economic evaluation of those services. In 2007, insect pollination, pest control and dung burial values were estimated using agricultural production data from China. The results show the annual value of insect regulating service in an agroecosystem are similar to the economic values of grassland or forest ecosystem serv