Seasonal Occurrence and Biodiversity of Insects in an Arid Ecosystem: An Ecological Study of the King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve, Saudi Arabia

Journal Article

2025

Published in: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/14/3/254

Each living organism thrives best in a habitat that provides optimal conditions for flourishing, reproduction, and distribution within a certain area. This study aims to investigate the seasonal variation in insect biodiversity across different sites of the King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve (KARR), located between E 45.19–46.57 and N 25.15–27.41, with a focus on assessing biodiversity, density and seasonal variation using active and passive methods, over the period from January to November 2023. A total of 68 sites within the study area were randomly selected for trap placement. The trapped specimens were labeled and transferred to plastic bottles half filled with 70% ethanol and then taken to the laboratory for counting and identification. Identification was based on morphological characteristics and appropriate identification keys, with the assistance of entomological expertise, and a list of local species. Simpson’s diversity index (D) was also calculated. The results revealed that, out of 6320 trapped insects, species were identified across six orders: Blattodea (termites), represented by 2 families and 2 species; Coleoptera, comprising 12 families and 38 species, of which 11 belonged to the family Tenebrionidae; Hemiptera, comprising 7 families and 9 species, 3 of which belonged to the family Lygaeidae; Hymenoptera, comprising 5 families and 15 species, 9 of which were from Formicidae; Lepidoptera, comprising 2 families and 3 species; and Orthoptera, comprising 3 families and 7 species, 4 of which were from family Acrididae. Insect biodiversity and abundance were observed to be relatively low during the winter (January–March) and autumn (October–November) seasons, while relatively higher densities were recorded during spring (May) and summer (August–September).

• Publisher Name: Biology