Then there\u2019s the male spotted antbirds that will use live crickets<\/a> to attract a mate. Crickets provide vital nutrition for the species when the breeding season comes around, and the presentation of a live one tells the female it\u2019s time to begin. \u201cHe\u2019s telling her, \u2018There\u2019s loads of crickets, let\u2019s make some chicks,\u2019\u201d Cooke explains.<\/p>\n Or there\u2019s the brown-throated sloths<\/a> that have moths living in their fur. The moths deposit nitrogen and stimulate algal<\/a> growth, which the sloths eat. When they descend to the forest floor to defecate, the moths lay their eggs in the dung.<\/p>\n All these unusual examples of how vertebrates benefit from insects are contained in a new research paper published in\u00a0Nature Reviews Biodiversity<\/a>\u00a0which attempts to set out the full extent of the importance of insects to all groups within the phylum \u2013 mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish.<\/p>\n Of course, insects are primarily of use as food. Nearly three-quarters of terrestrial and freshwater vertebrates eat invertebrates (and mainly insects), and for 40 per cent, insects are their only food. As Cooke points out, even seed-eating birds require caterpillars to feed their offspring.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey turn plant material into the protein that all the vertebrates depend on,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019re little bundles of energy, protein and water that can easily be fed to chicks.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Brown-throated](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Brown-throated-sloth.jpeg\")
The brown-throated sloth has moths living in its fur \u2013 these deposit nitrogen and stimulate algal growth, which the sloths eat. Credit: Teresa Melcer\/Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Blue](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Blue-tit-eating-caterpillar-scaled.jpeg\")
A blue tit delivers a caterpillar to its young. Credit: Ben Schonewille\/Getty Images<\/p>\n