Diversity and Ecobiogeography of Tettigoniids (Tettigonoidea:Orthoptera) in North Gujarat

摘要

Biodiversity is a popular way of describing diversity of life on earth and is important for overall health of the ecosystem. Among insects, grasshoppers have always been of great interest to man and ecologists because of their direct competition withman and his domesticated animals for food and fodder. In natural communities orthoptera often constitute an important group of arthropods in terms of diversity, biomass and extent of damage they cause to plants. They form a dominant group of herbivorousinsects found throughout the world and their high diversity, functional importance, sensitivity to disturbance and ease of sampling make them potentially useful bioindicators for land management. Knowledge of insect biodiversity is essential for their control and also for successful management of our agricultural system and understanding arthropod biodiversity vis-a-vis plant diversity is very vital to develop sound Integrated Pest Management strategies.