Biodiversity of entomofauna in the wilaya of Tébessa

Abstract

Studies carried out in Algeria on insects are still in an embryonic state. The current research work aims to provide informations about the biodiversity of insects’ fauna along a climatic gradient including; subhumid, semiarid, arid, and desertic climates at the region of Tebessa (northeastern Algeria). Research data were collected from July 2023 to April 2024 from four different stations by Malaise trap.

By using special identification keys, insects were differentiated into different orders. During the study time, a total of 20573 specimens of insects were collected belonging to15orders. Diptera was the dominant order according to studied insects’ samples numbers collected with 11620 specimens count (56.48%). While, the least dominant orders are Dermaptera and Mantodea which were represented by only a single individual(0.005%). Moreover, the present study also shows great fluctuation in insects’ occurrence with changing of seasons and climatic gradient. Indeed, the largest number of individuals collected in the station of Negrine and was obtained in spring with 5395 individuals. Whereas, the lowest collection was obtained in Ain Zarga station during the summer with only 78 individuals. These findings underscore the dynamic nature of ecological communities and the need for comprehensive conservation strategies.