Big impact on the economy

Only a very small percentage of insects are dangerous to people, and the majority never even pose a threat. However, the Parrotidae beetle family also has a number of species that have a significant economic influence due to the abundance of species of herbivorous insects. Each year, millions of trees are felled by wood and bark beetles which resemble the pine beetle and stem borer, respectively.

For agricultural pests like the western corn rootworm or the Colorado beetle, farmers have spent millions on insecticides and other control methods. Furthermore, some pests, like the cereal-eating Khapra beetle, also do significant economic and crop harm after the crops are harvested. The amount that gardeners spend setting up Japanese pheromone traps (a waste of money) is even greater than the GDP of some small countries.