Diversity of Edible Aquatic Insects Inhabiting Rice Fields in Central Thailand

Abstract—Rice fields occupy great biodiversity and support a variety of living organisms, including edible aquatic insects. The goal of this study was to assess the richness and diversity of edible aquatic insects living in rice fields. A sampling of aquatic insects and physico-chemical parameters of the rice field water were made after irrigation. Three replications of sampling by aquatic net were collected from the bottom along the edge of the rice plots. The richness and diversity indices were analyzed. A total of 10.501 individuals, comprising 64 genera of aquatic insects belonging to six orders, were collected at different study sites. Among aquatic insects, the order Hemiptera occupied the highest abundance of the total insects collected. Richness showed a range of 14 to 50. The Shannon–Wiener diversity index (H′) showed a range of 1.877 to 3.450, whereas Simpson`s diversity index (D) showed a range of 0.7665 to 0.9605. CCA and non-parametric Spearman correlation revealed that some insect species were correlated positively with pH, temperature, turbidity, alkalinity, and nutrients (nitrate and phosphate), and had a negative correlation with electrical conductivity and total dissolved solids.