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1 Insects pollinate the plants that feed us. It’s estimated that at any given time, about 10 quintillion (10,000,000,000,000,000,000) individual insects are flying, crawling, and burrowing around the planet. Invertebrates comprise more than 90% of Earth's animal species, and all but 10% of known invertebrates are insects (arthropods with three body segments, three pairs of jointed legs, and paired wings). “Worms that secrete bioluminescent fluids.” In my career as a National Park Service science writer, that’s not a phrase I ever expected to be researching-or writing an article about.īut why not? My recent conversation with biologist Tony Palmer illuminated the gap between the fundamental role of invertebrates in our ecosystems and their frequent lack of inclusion in wildlife conservation efforts-and NPS interpretation. Photo by Julius Schlosburg (used with permission) Southwest synchronous fireflies at Tumacácori NHP. by Alice Wondrak Biel, Sonoran Desert Network