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 Images
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

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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: