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Factors Affecting Insect Abundance

Shinde Dnyaneshwar Dadarao*, Mukesh Kumar, Singh and Amit Kuar
Department of Entomology, Post Graduate College of Agriculture,
Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa (Bihar), India

Corresponding Author
Shinde Dnyaneshwar Dadarao
Email: dnyaneshwarshinde4484@gmail.com
OPEN ACCESS
Keywords

Natural enemies, Abiotic factors, Industrialization, Diapause, Hibernation.

How to cite this article

Dadarao, S. D., Singh, M. K. and Kumar, A. 2022. Factors affecting Insect Abundance. Vigyan Varta
3(6): 11-14.
.
ABSTRACT
Survival and thriving in harsh environments necessitate unique adaptations and plastic
responses. Food, intra- and inter-specific competition, and natural enemies are all biotic
factors. Agriculture and industrialization have a significant impact on these ecosystems.
Natural enemies play an important role in the population control of forest insects. Insect
numbers are regulated by intraspecific competition and natural enemies, according to
several theories. The regenerative limit of most insects is impacted by dampness yet
various insects can endure conditions going from outrageous dryness to approach
immersed conditions. Termites and ants build protective structures such as nests. The
body of the insect is always balanced on a tripod, while the other three legs move forward.

INTRODUCTION and inter-specific competition, and natural

enemies are all biotic factors. Agriculture and

S
everal biotic and abiotic factors, as well
as their interactions, influence insect
abundance and distribution. Survival
and thriving in harsh environments necessitate
unique adaptations and plastic responses.
Temperature and humidity stand out as the
most important abiotic factors limiting insect
abundance and distribution. Furthermore,
abiotic factors, particularly temperature, have
been shown to influence the ecology of insect
communities. Various biotic and abiotic
factors limit insects' innate capacity to increase
in numbers in natural conditions. Food, intra-
industrialization have a significant impact on
these ecosystems. During the last three
decades, increased incidence and outbreaks of
a number of insect pests have resulted from the
intensification of agriculture using high
yielding varieties grown under new agronomic
practices with increased irrigation facilities
and extensive use of agro chemicals.
Biotic factors: Every plant and animal species
experiences rhythmical changes in population
in response to food availability and the
presence or absence of natural enemies.

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1. Food:
Food quantity and quality determine survival,
development, and multiplication. If a
sufficient food supply is available, an insect
population will grow in number and become a
pest. Modern agriculture, which relies on
large-scale monocultures of a few high-
yielding varieties of important crops to provide
an endless supply of food, is increasing insect-
pest outbreaks.
2. Natural enemies:
Natural enemies play an important role in the
population control of forest insects. Insect
numbers are regulated by intraspecific
competition and natural enemies, according to
several theories.
Abiotic factors:
Climatic factors affect the endurance,
advancement and regenerative limit of bugs
and are viewed as the main source of
vacillations in populace.
Temperature:
Life survives within a certain narrow range of
temperatures. Takeoff from this ideal reach on
the two sides might be endured somewhat,
contingent on the physiological
transformations. Temperatures above or
beneath these cutoff points demonstrate
deadly. A portion of the bug species have
created lethargy components (like diapause,
hibernation and aestivation) to hold over times
of ominous temperatures
Moisture:
Most terrestrial insects are live in dry climate.
The main wellspring of water is the water
gotten with food material from their host
plants. These insects have fostered an
assortment of instruments to moderate
dampness. In like manner, extreme dampness
supports sickness episodes, influencing
ordinary turn of events. The regenerative limit
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of most insects is impacted by dampness yet
various bugs can endure conditions going from
outrageous dryness to approach immersed
conditions. Other environmental factors like
light, atmospheric pressure, air current, and
carbon dioxide concentration also influence
insect abundance to a lesser extent.
An insect is usually affected by both biotic and
abiotic factors at the same time. Density
independent (abiotic) and density dependent
(interspecific competition, natural enemies,
etc.) environmental factors combine to
increase insect populations. Insects constitute
the largest class of the living world including
animal kingdom and plant kingdom, The
number of insect species known vary from
700-1500 thousand equal to 70-90% of all
known species in animal kingdom. The
various characteristic features responsible for
insect dominance are as under,
A) Structural perfection: Exoskeleton, small
size, faster speciation, functional wings,
Hexapod locomotion, compound eyes,
scattered sense organs, decentralised nervous
system, direct respiration, and enteronephric
excretion are among the features.
Small size: Insects evolved a large number of
smaller individuals in comparison to a small
number of larger individuals. This improved
one's chances of surviving. Smaller people
require a smaller amount of food and can fit
into tighter spaces.
Quicker speciation: The chitinous
exoskeleton and development of wings, as
well as the small size and large number of
individuals, contribute to the large number of
species in insects.
Functional wings: It's a unique trait that gives
you an advantage in survival, dispersal,
feeding, and breeding, avoiding enemies,
catching food, and mating. Honey bees can fly
at 14 kilometers per hour, hawk moths at 27
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kilometers per hour, and butterflies at 80
kilometers per hour.
Hexapod locomotion: Insects evolved into
hexapoda, which has the optimal number of
legs. Walking becomes more difficult as the
number of legs increases, while walking with
fewer legs becomes problematic. The body of
the insect is always balanced on a tripod, while
the other three legs move forward.
Compound eyes: Insects have compound eyes
with a large number of units called ommatidia,
such as 17,000 in a butterfly and more than
50,000 in a dragon fly, and insects do not lose
vision if one of these eyes is damaged partially.
Scattered sense organs: Sense organs are
distributed on antennae, mouth parts, tarsi, and
cerci, reducing the chances of them all being
damaged at the same time.
Decentralized nervous system: The central
nervous system is made up of a chain of
ganglia on the ventral side of the body and a
brain in the head. Insects with no brain can be
made to walk, fly, feed, mate, and lay fertile
eggs.
Direct respiration: Air is delivered to every
minute body part via a network of air tubes
known as tracheae, which have spiracles that
open to the outside.
Enteronephric excretion: The important
organ of excretion is Malpighian tubules
which open in hind gut instead of exterior. It is
suited for water conservation.
B) Developmental characteristics: The egg,
larva, pupa, and adult stages are the four stages
of life. There is no competition for food or
space between parent and offspring because
the feeding stage larva and the reproductive
stage adult require very different food and
habitat. The pupal stage is a resting stage with
high resistance and no nutritional
requirements.
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C) High fecundity: A pair of moths with high
fecundity and a faster rate of development can
cover the entire earth with a 25 mt layer if
allowed to breed for one year, assuming each
moth lays 200 eggs and completes its life cycle
in one month. Also, some social insects, such
as Ret, have controlled reproduction,
producing only a few females and other
workers, demonstrating social evolution.
D) Specificity of food: Insects have a wide
range of eating habits. Polyphagous insects
such as locusts and armyworms exist, while
others are plant or plant part specific (root
borer, stem borer, top shoot borer).
E) Protective adaptations: Insects have
developed morphological, behavioral,
protective structure, and safe habitats to
protect themselves from biotic and climatic
changes. Morphological adaptations include
the exoskeleton, secretion of protective
venom, cryptic coloration.
 Exoskeleton, protective venom secretion,
and cryptic coloration are examples of
morphological adaptations.
 Adaptive behaviors include venom
secretion and death impersonation.
assuming an aggressive stance
 Termites and ants build protective
structures such as nests.
 Habits of jumping and flying to avoid
danger and get around unfavorable
conditions are common in safe habitats.
 Finally, social insects such as termites,
ants, and honey bees, which have a caste
system, division of labor, their own
gardens, dairy, and language, represent the
pinnacle of evolution.
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 These are some of the characteristics that REFERENCES

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