Insects: biodiversity, threat status and conservation approaches

Insects are an important component of the ecosystem and fast dwindling of its diversity is reported globally. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed a total of 77,435 species of insects between 1996 and 2020, of which 18,180 (23.47%) species are reported to be threatened and the majority of threate­ned species was reported in Odonata followed by Ortho­ptera, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera. Out of 1843 species listed as critically endangered, endangered, extinct, extinct in wild and vulnerable, from the literature it was found that 596 are predators, 40 are pollinators, 164 are saprophagous, 620 are herbivores, 272 are omnivores, 137 are parasites and 14 are unknown. This study provides concise information on insect diversity, global threat status and major driving factors for population decline, which will be helpful in determining the priority insect groups that require conservation.