Insects from light trap: Do they represent total diversity?

Insects collected in the light traps over a period of two years in the agroecosystems of GKVK campus represented 13 of the 21 orders of India. Among these orders collected, five orders viz., Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera and Diptera were the most predominant. We compared the relative proportions of these five speciose orders with those expected at national and at global levels to test if the light traps collections can be used as a surrogates of national and global diversity of these groups. We found that while orders Coleopteran and Hemipteran insects are over represented, those of Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera are under-represented. We discuss the possible reasons for these differentia representation.