Insect Fauna Diversity and Abundance in Abattoirs in Enugu North Senatorial Zone, Eastern Nigeria

Insects act as the vector for various microorganisms. They have the potential for spreading diseases in the environment where they are found. Many insects are associated with animal feces and manure, and abattoirs are one of the important sources for such contacts and disease dissemination. We assumed that understanding the diversity of insect fauna might help to shade light on vector insect-borne diseases, prevalence and transmission rates in abattoir communities. Here we randomly selected three (Orba, Ikpa, and Obollo-afor) abattoirs in Enugu senatorial zone and surveyed for insect fauna abundance, diversity, and distribution. The sampling was carried out over a period of eight weeks, using sweep net and hand picking as the collection methods. Overall 12 species were recorded, Orba had the lowest species diversity with 7 species while Obollo-afor and Ikpa recorded 10 and 9 species respectively. Dipteran and Coleoptera were the most diverse and abundant order observed with Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae) being the most abundant species encountered. Equitability index of evenness revealed that Calliphora vomitoria, and Calosoma scrutator were evenly distributed. While the lowest evenness was recorded in Ikpa. The information generated from this study will provide the much needed assistance in disease monitoring and guideline in health policy decision making in the study area.