# African Arthropods/Insects

There are 27 orders of insects. Scientific estimates have been made of the number of species in the different orders, but how common are they in terms of numbers of organisms or biomass? This is more difficult to measure, and there are many scientists asking this question, especially now that there is evidence of a world-wide decline in insect biomass. See also: The collapse of insects: The most diverse group of organisms on the planet are in trouble, with recent research suggesting insect populations are declining at an unprecedented rate.
From an informal learning point of view, however, the number of records (in iNaturalist) of organisms from each group gives an indication of how often people with cameras interact with that group. The table below gives a breakdown of the numbers of African records on iNaturalist for the different orders of insects. The table is interactive - one can sort the table so that it reflects the taxonomic order (based on the Wikipedia page for insects) by clicking on the column heading; the first two columns can be sorted alphabetically.
Iziko museum has a table of insect Orders on their biodiversity explorer site for southern Africa
Insect orders, showing the number of African records on iNaturalist on 25 July 2022 :
| Order | Common names | Number of iNaturalist records | Taxonomic order |
| Lepidoptera | Butterflies and Moths | 226821 | 23 Amphiesmenoptera |
| Coleoptera | Beetles | 81584 | 19 Coleopterida |
| Hymenoptera | Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies | 55752 | 17 Hymenopterida |
| Hemiptera | True Bugs, Hoppers, Aphids, and Allies | 41874 | 15 Acercaria |
| Diptera | Flies | 38453 | 25 Antliophora |
| Odonata | Dragonflies and Damselflies | 36623 | 3 Odonatoptera |
| Orthoptera | Grasshoppers, Crickets, and Katydids | 34887 | 8 Orthoptera |
| Mantodea | Mantises | 10403 | 9 Dictyoptera |
| Blattodea | Cockroaches and Termites | 9138 | 10 Dictyoptera |
| Neuroptera | Antlions, Lacewings, and Allies | 5318 | 21 Neuropterida |
| Phasmida | Stick Insects | 1845 | 12 Eukinolabia |
| Dermaptera | Earwigs | 756 | 6 Haplocercata |
| Ephemeroptera | Mayflies | 719 | 4 Panephemeroptera |
| Thysanoptera | Thrips | 477 | 16 Acercaria |
| Zygentoma | Silverfishes | 451 | 2 Basal |
| Trichoptera | Caddisflies | 425 | 24 Amphiesmenoptera |
| Psocodea | Barklice, Booklice, and Parasitic Lice | 326 | 14 Acercaria |
| Archaeognatha | Bristletails | 109 | 1 Basal |
| Embiidina | Webspinners | 100 | 13 Eukinolabia |
| Plecoptera | Stoneflies | 60 | 7 Plecoptera |
| Megaloptera | Alderflies, Dobsonflies, and Fishflies | 41 | 22 Neuropterida |
| Mecoptera | Hangingflies, Scorpionflies, and Allies | 40 | 26 Antliophora |
| Siphonaptera | Fleas | 29 | 27 Antliophora |
| Notoptera | Heelwalkers and Ice Crawlers | 16 | 11 Notoptera |
| Strepsiptera | Twisted-wing Insects | 7 | 18 Coleopterida |
| Raphidioptera | Snakeflies | 1 | 20 Neuropterida |
| Zoraptera | Angel Insects | 0 | 5 Haplocercata |
Order Raphidioptera (snakeflies) is rare in Africa; Snakeflies are probably limited to a few countries on the Mediterranean Sea. iNaturalist has only one African record; that is from Morocco. Order Zoraptera (angel insects) are widespread worldwide, but are rarely recorded. There are no African records of angel insects on iNaturalist, but GBIF shows a record from Ethiopia.

## Mapping Insect biodiversity in Africa

The Biodiversity and Development Institute (BDI) and The FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology run a citizen science programme called the Virtual Museum - this includes these projects:
* Atlas of Dung Beetles in southern Africa
* Atlas of African Neuroptera and Megaloptera
* Atlas of African Lepidoptera
* Odonata Atlas of Africa