Occurrence of different insect species with emphasis on their abundance and diversity in different habitats of Faisalabad, Pakistan

Abstract

The occurrence of diverse and copious communities of insects are considered the indicator of ecosystem sustainability in different habitats. This study was designed to investigate the diversity of various insect species among different habitats viz. Agro-farms, citrus orchards, and around the pond areas from January 2018 to December 2018. Sampling was done every month in the morning by using sweep nets, handpicking, and Forceps. The composition, relative abundance, and diversity indices of Diptera, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, and Hymenoptera were computed. Maximum abundance was recorded for the Agro-farms (N = 1704) and minimum for citrus orchards (N = 1003). Diptera was documented to be the most abundant and diverse order (N = 1988), while Lepidoptera was the least diverse one ((N = 286). The diversity indices, Shannon index (3.832), Margalef richness (14.18), and Evenness (0.4662) from the citrus orchards were recorded high. Abiotic factors (Temperature, Humidity) showed a significant relationship with the occurrence of the fauna (p < 0.05). The temperature significantly and positively correlated, while the humidity negatively correlated to the diversity and abundance of fauna. However, we found a significant difference in species composition according to habitat (P < 0.001). All habitats were different from each other (Fisher post hoc test, P < 0.05). All the test was done at the level of significance (α = 0.05). Future work needs to be done by expanding the duration of the study, area, scope, and by applying different sampling techniques.