Possible Bottleneck?

I have a 97 astro that i've had for a while now. So I just replaced the air filter today and realized that right after the air filter,there is this metalish screen that is located in the intake tube.It looks kind of like the honeycomb you find in a catalyctic conv.

Well,my question is,can it be removed safely,because it does seem like a bottleneck for the intake,or should I just leave it as it is.

That screen is part of the MAF sensor..it helps to straighten out the incoming air so the sensor can read it correctly.
Some people believe taking this screen out gives them better performance.
In my experiance it causes some detrimental driveability concerns...I say leave it alone.

Thanks for the info,I think i'll leave it on. But first i'll have to clean it,as I noticed that there are some bugs attached to the screen.