Assessment of insect diversity in paddy fields of Uthamapalayam, Theni district, Tamil Nadu, India

The paddy field ecosystem is the primary habitat for insects that utilize the paddy crop as their food source from the seedlings to the harvesting phases. The diversity and abundance of insects vary in this ecosystem and the growth stages of the paddy plantation. In the present study, the insect diversity in paddy fields at Uthamapalayam, Theni district, Tamil Nadu, India were surveyed fortnight from December 2019 to February 2020. A total of 587 insects belonging to 26 species and nine orders, viz., Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Mantodea, Odonata, Orthoptera, and Thysanoptera were recorded. The most abundant order was Orthoptera and Coleoptera, and the least one was Thysanoptera. The diversity index represented by the Shannon-Weiner index ranged from 0.07 to 0.23, and the overall index was 1.26, and diversity evenness ranged between 0.26 and 0.42. Thus, assessing and recording insect diversity aims to build a strategic framework to monitor its biodiversity, which relies upon various factors.