Diversity and Abundance of Agriculturally Important Insects and Pests in the Bitter Gourd Ecosystem at Selected Locations in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India

Bitter gourd holds a prominent position among vegetables due to its high nutritional and medicinal value. However, various factors contribute to its lower production, including attacks by several pests such as the red pumpkin beetle, fruit fly, jassids, aphids, and whitefly, affecting different stages (seedling, vegetative, and reproductive) and parts (stem, leaves, flowers, and fruits) of the plant. From February to July 2023, a total of 12,481 individual arthropods belonging to 80 species from 45 families, 74 genera, and 10 orders, across two classes (Insecta and Arachnida), were documented in the bitter gourd ecosystem. The order Coleoptera was the most diverse, with 22 species from eight families, followed by Hymenoptera with 15 species from eight families, Lepidoptera (10 species, four families), Hemiptera (nine species, seven families), Diptera (eight species, eight families), Odonata (five species, two families), Orthoptera (three species, two families), Mantodea (two species, one family), and Thysanoptera (one species, one family). Additionally, five spider species from five genera and four families were recorded. Among the arthropods, predators represented the largest group with 34 species, followed by pests (22 species), pollinators (19 species), parasitoids (two species), and tourists (three species). The highest species diversity and richness were recorded in Narasipuram, with a Shannon-Weiner diversity index of 3.268, followed by TNAU Orchard (3.182), and Thondamuthur (2.914). Pollachi exhibited the lowest diversity (2.681).