INSECT SPECIES DIVERSITY AND ABUNDANCE IN KADUNA STATE UNIVERSITY MAIN CAMPUS, KADUNA, NIGERIA

Abstract

Insects are one of the most prevalent features of our environment, the insect lives are inextricably intertwined with human. Three sites were chosen for the study to reflect different land uses and covers. Line transects were used to survey the three site, the hand sweep net and pit fall trap method were used to trap flying and crawling insects respectively.  A total of 1908 insects from 8 orders, 24 Families and 48 species were collected from the three habitats. The most dominant order was Odonata with a relative abundance of (22.92%) followed by Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera (20.83%) and the least was Neuroptera and Hemiptera (2.08%). Species diversity, evenness and richness varied from habitat to habitat. Using one-way Anova the result showed, that there was significant difference in species composition across the habitat types at 0.05%. This can be clearly understood from the perspective that both BG and BFH are highly plant and seedlings based and it is believed that plants co-evolve with their insect herbivores. This study therefore, reveals the diversity and abundance of insects’ species in Kaduna State University and the need for sustainable actions to conserve beneficial species.