As Nature, SPIEGEL and MSNBC report, insects are estimated to be worth about US$57 billion to the US economy each year. The researchers conducting the study (Losey J. E. & Vaughan M. BioScience, 56. 311-323) calculated this value not only from direct contributions of insects such as honeybees to honey and pollination, but most of all from indirect contributions from insects as food for birds, game and fish. Insects also eat pests on dozens of different crops and enhance soil quality in a number of different ways.
As an insect researcher myself, I couldn't be more pleased to see that the scientific value of the little critters is rivalled even by their monetary value!