WORLD JOURNAL OF ADVANCE
HEALTHCARE RESEARCH

Yasir Nawaz*, Saba Munir, Ali Zaib Khan, Muhammad Zaman, Maria Hussain, Muhammad Luqman, Ibrar Hussain, MazharHussain Ranjha, Muhammad Wajid and Muhammad Saleem Khan

ABSTRACT

This investigation aimed to assess and compare the abundance and biodiversity of beneficial insects in two arablecrops, namely wheat and maize, within Okara district. Beneficial and pest insects were collected using pitfalltrapping method. The predominant order in maize crops was Coleoptera (family Carabidae), with orders Dipteraand Hymenoptera. Wheat crops exhibited several orders, including Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, Plecoptera,Orthoptera, and Lepidoptera. In maize crops, the percentage of Carabidae was 34.7%, with Lycosidae comprising11%, Muscidae accounting for 15%, and other families collectively constituting less than 15% of the total crop.Conversely, in wheat, the percentage of Carabidae was 0.3%, with Lycosidae, Muscidae, Formicidae, and otherfamilies each contributing less than 11%. The combined percentage of Coleoptera (family Carabidae) was 31.3%in both crops, with orders having lower percentages. In combined maize and wheat crops, Lycosidae, Muscidae,Formicidae, Deinopidae, and Thomisidae families constituted 19.12%, 18.38%, 9.5%, 3.7%, and 3.23%,respectively. The dominant order across crops remained Coleoptera (Carabidae). Distances between fields weremeasured in kilometers, revealing a distance of 0.41 km between two wheat crops (W1-W2) and 0.68 km from thefirst maize crop (M1) to the second maize crop (M2-M3), with a further distance of 0.87 km from the second tothe third maize crop (M3). Temporal and spatial differences in insect populations were discussed, highlightingsignificant variations in insect abundance between maize and wheat crops (F(1, 2895) = 1.3465, p = 0.24599). Thestudy emphasizes that arable crops express a dominant presence of the Coleoptera order (Carabidae).