A simple model showing how insect species respond to changes in environment and a few human activities. Note that species may change in numbers (biodiversity) and/or abundance and that community compositions may also change in complex relationships. These relationships must be established by studies on the modern insect fauna.

Insect species identified in archaeological samples may have a number of possible origins. It is the job of the palaeoentomologist (fossil insect scientist) to interpret these species in terms of their most probably origins and meaning in the particular context.