City insects, spiders are garbage eating machines and help keep cities clean

New research found that insects and spiders consume a big portion of the food tossed on the ground in New York City-and most likely in other locations.

The study, published today in Global Change Biology, set out to look at urban insects-from roaches to ants to spiders-in New York City. 

The authors were hoping to find out more about how Hurricane Sandy had affected New York's insects, but in the process, they also ended up revealing some fascinating statistics about how bugs fare in our fair city. For example, The New York Times reports that an initial culling of bugs from parks and medians uncovered "16,294 bugs, including representatives of 32 species of ants."

The researchers, working with elaborate equipment in Central Park, Riverside Park, Inwood Hill Park and other green places, attracted attention. "We had some people come up and say studying insects was interesting," said the lead author, Elsa Youngsteadt, a research associate at North Carolina State University. "Others just wanted to know how to kill them."

"This isn't just a silly fact," added Dr. Elsa Youngsteadt, according to CBS. "This highlights a very real service that these arthropods provide. They effectively dispose of our trash for us."

To see how much they ate, the researchers left out specific amounts of potato chips, cookies and hot dogs at various sites around the city. Some of the food was placed in cages so only bugs could get at it. After 24 hours, they would return to see just how much of the food was eaten.

"This is another in a series of elegant studies on urban ecology by this group of researchers at NCSU," said Daniel Herms, an entomologist at Ohio State University in Wooster, who was not involved in this study, according to National Geographic.

"Insects are important in the natural environment, and this study is another example that they are providing critical services even in urban areas."