Preliminary Review of the Insect Fauna in Yemen.

Abstract

Muharam, I.A. and A.M.A. Sallam. 2024. Preliminary Review of the Insect Fauna in Yemen. Arab Journal of Plant Protection, 42(4): 443-451. https://doi.org/10.22268/AJPP-001265 

This review aimed to compile the lists of insects collected, in an effort toward developing a unified list of insect fauna in Yemen. The Yemeni environment is rich in biodiversity, including insects, and there are many insect species that carry “Yemen” in their name. Many of those insects are considered endemic and unique in the world. Despite the political instability in Yemen for the past few decades, much has been achieved in the field of collecting, identifying, and classifying insects, mostly through technical assistance projects supported by international organizations. So far, 5218 species of insects have been identified in Yemen, not including the Socotra archipelago, all of which belong to 25 insect orders, with five orders being the most common in Yemen. The order Coleoptera ranked first 25.11%, followed by Diptera 15.5%. Lepidoptera 14.62%, Hymenoptera 12.3%, and Hemiptera 11.1%.

Keywords:

Insects, insect fauna, Yemen.