Biosystematics of Grasshoppers (Acridoidea: Orthoptera) from Azad Jammu & Kashmir

Abstract

The present study was conducted to explore the acridoid fauna from the region of Azad Jammu & Kashmir. Survey was within 10 districts of AJK comprising of 50 localities during the year (2007-10) following by collection manual.The identification was carried out both on morphological and molecular level by using DNA barcoding techniques. Seventy acridoid species were collected and identified from the study area and subjected to DNA barcoding to remove the confusion the morphological identification. The barcod results of only 26 species was obtained that shown the great variation among the specimens of 11 specie. Out of 70 species 17 were found as the new record from the study area. Keys were constructed for the local species, genera, subfamilies and families. Diversity indices were applied on the sorted material to calculate the the richness and abundance of acridoid grasshoppers. Sequences produced from the grasshoppres species in the current studies have been submitted in the gene bank database for the sequence database and barcod reference library, Biodiversity Institute Ontario, Canada.