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Archaeologists have found the oldest sentence written on an ivory comb. The words read: "May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard." Does this comb show we are only guests on a planet ruled by bugs?

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Body lice carry typhus and have destroyed entire armies. Fleas spread the Black Death, which killed 75 million people. Mosquitoes caused almost half of all deaths in human history.

Locusts destroy crops, termites eat walls, silverfish eat books. "Bugs are not going to inherit the earth," said insect expert Thomas Eisner. "They own it now."

But do they? The comb shows humans use tools to control insects. We rule the world because we are the only species with culture.

China learned how to farm silkworms to make cloth. Beekeepers have taken honey from hives for over 4,500 years. Chemists make powerful insecticides to destroy harmful pests. As many as two billion people eat insects.

But insect numbers have dropped and we need them to pollinate our crops. Love them or hate them, our future depends on bugs.

Yes! Insects existed long before us and will be here after we have gone.

No! They once ruled the world, but now we are wiping them out.