Insect Diversity of Freshwater Ecosystems in Meghalaya, Northeast of India

The study was carried out on the biodiversity of freshwater insects in Meghalaya (northeast India). Seven different sampling points were selected: Umngot river, Umkhen River, paddy field (Mawryngkneng village), and Fish dale farm (Directorate of Fisheries), Puriang sung valley in East Khasi Hills District; Umiam River (Dwarksuid bridge) in Ri-Bhoi district; Dawki Wah Umngot in West Jaintia Hills District during August 2023 – January 2024 (including the three seasons summer, autumn, and winter). Insects were gathered every month by using a dip net having a mesh size of 500 µm. A total of 24 species of insects belonging to 16 families and 6 orders were found and the most abundant order was Hemiptera consisting of (25%), and followed by Odonata (21.3%), Coleoptera (15.74%), Megaloptera (14.81%), Ephemeroptera (12.96%), and Diptera (10.19%). This study attempts to emphasize that unregulated mixing of different pollutant in rivers and its effect on the freshwater insect’s biodiversity and rivers ecosystem of Meghalaya.