author(s)
Shaikh Mohiuddin

abstract
The study was conducted to explore abundance and diversity of insects in and around the college campus at Sonai, Ahilyanagar District of Maharashtra from June 2024 to August 2024. Insects are collected by different standard methods. The identification of insects was done by available literature with standard keys of identification, pictorial websites and internet search. A total of 6608 insect specimens were collected during this period. These insects include 40 species, belonging to 36 families under 11 orders. The study shows that order Hymenoptera was most dominant with 46.76%, followed by Diptera (9.39%), Coleoptera (8.48%), Orthoptera (7.14%), Lepidoptera (7%), Hemiptera (6.63%) and Zygentoma (5.64%). The least relative percentage was Isoptera with 0.82%. The diversity of species shows that order Coleoptera was dominant with 8 families, followed by Lepidoptera and Hemiptera (5 families each), Orthoptera with 4 families, Hymenoptera, Diptera and Odonata (3families each), Isoptera with 2 families and Mantodea, Dictyoptera and Zygentoma containing only 1 family each. This study is a preliminary research work and will be helpful to extend the work to observe seasonal changes of insect biodiversity in various regions.