Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project

Figure 3-35: Fish catch composition (%) of the Padma river (DoF, 2001)3.2.5 Insects and Butterflies79. Bangladesh possesses a wide range of invertebrates both in its aquatic and terrestrialhabitats. Though the invertebrate fauna of the country has not yet been fully recorded. However, thewarm and humid climate of the country is favorable for lower organisms, especially the insect fauna.The study area has no difference than the rest of the areas of the country in terms of havingdiversified insect faunas.80. Among the different orders of insects that exist in Bangladesh, the aphids (hemipteran)group is of major economic importance both for the direct damage they cause to crops and for theviral diseases they transmit within the study area. Many other hemipteran and homopteran insectshave been observed during the study.81. Bees are hymenopteran insects, 18 species have so far been reported in Bangladesh, ofwhich 4 are honeybees. The study area also supports different types of bees, of them Apis melliferawas the common species among hymenopterans. Many wasps and ants from hymenopterans werealso observed during study. Beetles are the insects belonging to the order Coleoptera. In terms ofnumber of species, Coleoptera is the largest order in the animal and plant kingdoms. The ordercontains some of the largest insects, as well as some of the smallest. The different groups of beetlesare named as bark beetle, bombardier beetle, cardinal beetle, carrion beetle, chick beetle, deathwatchbeetle, dermestid beetle, diving beetle, firefly, ground beetle, ladybird beetle, leaf beetle, longhornedbeetle, rove beetle, scarabaeid beetle, tenebrionid beetle, weevil, whirligig, woodworm, etc.The scarab dung beetle frequently seen during study that was mostly of genus Onthophagous. Leafeatingscarabaeids are also seen in the area. The beneficial ladybirds and phytophagous ladybirdshave been found commonly. Some common genera around the crop fields of the study area are:Micraspis, Coccinella, Harmonia, Menochilus, Cheilomenes, and Propylea etc.82. Firefly is a small, nocturnal, luminescent, carnivorous beetle of the family Lampyridae, orderColeoptera. In Bangladesh about 20 species have been reported including Lamprophorus tenebrous,Lampyris marginella, Luciola chinensis, and L. ovalis. Different types of firefly were observed.. InBangladesh, the common indoor fly species are the house fly (Musca domestica), the lesser house fly(Fannia canicularis), the biting housefly or stable fly (Stomoxys sp.), the blue bottles or blow flies(Calliphora sp.), the green bottles (Lucilia sp.), and the flesh flies (Sarcophaga sp.). Outdoor fliesinclude the black flies, the deer flies, the horse flies, the hover flies, the daddy long legs or crane fliesand many muscoids. The sand flies (Phlebotomus sp.) are common both indoors and outdoors. Thestudy area is no exception of this common scenario. Few fruit flies were also observed during thestudy.83. Mosquito is the commonest blood-sucking insect belonging to the order Diptera, under thefamily-Culicidae. The common genera in Bangladesh are Anopheles, Culex, and Aedes. The study3-49