Ecosystem services provided by insects for achieving sustainable development goals

Ecosystem services underpin all dimensions of human wellbeing. As a consequence it is crucial to integrate ecosystem services into strategies for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Because insects and other invertebrates have profound and well-identified influences on many ecosystems services (e.g. pollination and biological control) and SDGs (e.g. crop pest and disease vectors), insect research and development have a great potential to address current global challenges. In this commentary we argue that time is ripe to put more efforts in developing integrated research on the ecosystem services provided by insects, as they may result in solutions to achieve many SDGs. We provide evidence of insects' utility to address global challenges and propose a framework of the needed shift in the perception of insects from enemies and allies, providers of ecosystem services, to solutions to achieve SDGs. We further advocate that making a place for SDG-relevant research on insects' ecosystem services requires transforming existing academic knowledge into applications-driven science, a potential up-scaling of local solutions and socio-economic relevance. The immediate implication for scientific undertaking is a need to shift from approaches in which academia and society poorly interact to more integrated dynamics, sustained by solid cooperative extension systems.