Diversity of Hemiptera (Insecta) in Different Coffee Plantation Districts of Karnataka, India
Abstract
The present study provides a faunistic account of the order Hemiptera (Insecta) associated with coffee plantations in different districts of Karnataka, India. Field surveys were conducted in selected coffee-growing regions representing different geographical and ecological conditions of the state. Hemipteran specimens were collected using standard entomological methods, including sweep netting, hand collection, and light trapping, and were subsequently preserved, examined, and identified using relevant taxonomic literature and comparative material. The study documents the diversity and distribution of hemipteran insects occurring in coffee plantation ecosystems, with representatives of several families and genera. The recorded taxa comprise phytophagous as well as predatory forms, reflecting the ecological complexity of the coffee agroecosystem. Particular attention was given to species identification, diagnostic characters, locality records, and their known distribution in India and elsewhere. The study contributes to the existing knowledge of the hemipteran fauna of Karnataka and provides baseline information on the insect diversity associated with coffee plantations. Such faunistic inventories are important for understanding insect diversity, species distribution, and ecological interactions within coffee agroecosystems and may also provide useful information for future studies on economically important and beneficial hemipteran species. During the present study, 41 species belonging to 37 genera and 15 families of Hemiptera were documented from coffee plantation areas in Kodagu, Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru districts of Karnataka, India.
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Introduction
The order Hemiptera is one of the largest and most diverse groups of insects and constitutes an important component of the global insect fauna. Members of this order exhibit remarkable diversity in their feeding habits and ecological roles and include phytophagous, predatory, hematophagous, and omnivorous forms. They occupy a wide range of habitats, including terrestrial, freshwater, and, in a few groups, marine environments. Hemipterans are of considerable ecological and economic importance, as some species are serious agricultural pests causing direct damage to crops, while others are important predators and natural enemies of pest insects and are consequently utilized in biological control programmes. Several species also serve as vectors of plant pathogens and may have substantial impacts on agricultural production.
The order Hemiptera is currently divided into four major suborders, namely Sternorrhyncha, Auchenorrhyncha, Coleorrhyncha, and Heteroptera. It comprises approximately 102,183 described species worldwide, while about 7,162 species belonging to 95 families have been reported from India (Metcalf, 1960; Distant, 2008, 2016, 2018; Chandra, 2012, 2013, Dubey et al. 2026). The Indian subcontinent, owing to its wide range of climatic conditions, physiographic features, vegetation types, and biogeographical regions, supports a rich and diverse hemipteran fauna. However, the distribution and diversity of many hemipteran groups remain inadequately documented, particularly from agroecosystems and plantation landscapes (Saha, et al. 2025a,b,c, Saha, et al. 2026a,b,c.; Prabhakar, 2013).
Coffee (Coffea spp.) is one of the most important plantation crops cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions and constitutes a major component of the agricultural economy of several countries. Coffee plantations support a diverse assemblage of arthropods because of their complex vegetation structure, availability of host plants, shade trees, leaf litter, weeds, and surrounding natural habitats. These agroecosystems harbour both phytophagous and predatory insects. Several phytophagous hemipterans are associated with coffee and may affect plant growth and productivity, whereas predatory taxa can contribute to the suppression of pest populations. Consequently, knowledge of the hemipteran fauna associated with coffee plantations is important not only from a taxonomic and faunistic perspective but also for understanding their ecological significance in plantation ecosystems.
India is one of the important coffee-producing countries, with cultivation concentrated primarily in the southern part of the country. Karnataka is the major coffee-producing state of India and possesses extensive coffee plantations, particularly across the Western Ghats and adjoining regions. The coffee-growing districts of Karnataka exhibit considerable variation in altitude, rainfall, temperature, vegetation, plantation management practices, and surrounding landscape. Such environmental heterogeneity provides diverse microhabitats and may influence the composition and distribution of associated hemipteran communities. Despite the economic importance and extensive distribution of coffee plantations in Karnataka, information on the diversity and distribution of Hemiptera associated with these agroecosystems remains relatively limited and scattered.
Faunistic surveys are essential for documenting regional biodiversity, establishing reliable distributional records, and identifying species that may be of ecological or economic significance. In particular, systematic surveys of agricultural and plantation ecosystems can provide valuable baseline information on both pest and beneficial insect fauna. Accurate identification and documentation of hemipteran species are also important for understanding their geographical distribution and for developing future studies on ecology, biodiversity conservation, biological control, and integrated pest management.
The present study was undertaken to document the diversity of Hemiptera associated with coffee plantations in different districts of Karnataka, India. The study provides taxonomic and distributional information on the recorded species based on field surveys and examination of collected specimens. A total of 41 species belonging to 37 genera and 15 families are recorded as new records for different districts of Karnataka. These records considerably enhance the available knowledge of the terrestrial hemipteran fauna of the state and provide baseline information on the diversity and distribution of Hemiptera associated with coffee plantation ecosystems. The study also highlights the importance of continued faunistic surveys in plantation landscapes for documenting regional insect diversity and understanding the ecological roles of hemipteran insects in agroecosystems.
Conclusion
The present study demonstrates that coffee plantations in Kodagu, Shivamogga, and Chikkamagaluru districts of Karnataka harbour a diverse assemblage of Hemiptera, represented by 41 species belonging to 37 genera and 15 families. The recorded taxa comprise both phytophagous and predatory forms, reflecting the ecological complexity of the coffee agroecosystem. Among the recorded families, Pentatomidae was represented by the highest number of genera and species (six genera and six species), followed by Cicadellidae (four genera and five species) and Lygaeidae (three genera and four species).
The district-wise distribution revealed considerable variation in the occurrence of hemipteran families among the three coffee-growing regions. Kodagu supported the highest number of species (25), followed by Shivamogga (14) and Chikkamagaluru (11). This variation may reflect differences in altitude, climatic conditions, vegetation structure, shade-tree composition, microclimatic conditions and plantation management practices among the three districts.
The documentation of 41 species as new records for different districts of Karnataka is particularly significant from a faunistic perspective. These records expand the known distributional range of the respective taxa within the state and demonstrate that the hemipteran fauna of Karnataka is still incompletely documented. The occurrence of previously unrecorded species at the district level may reflect genuine range extensions, insufficient earlier sampling, or the limited availability of systematic surveys in plantation ecosystems.
The study emphasizes the importance of coffee plantations as habitats for diverse insect communities and provides a baseline for future taxonomic, ecological, biodiversity, and pest-management studies. The coexistence of herbivorous and predatory taxa indicates the presence of complex trophic interactions within the coffee plantation ecosystem. Some hemipteran species are known to cause damage to crops through sap feeding, while predatory species may act as natural enemies of pest organisms. Correct identification of the species occurring in coffee plantations is therefore an essential prerequisite for determining their ecological and economic significance.
The present findings also highlight the importance of combining taxonomic surveys with ecological observations. Although the current study primarily focuses on species documentation and distribution, future investigations should examine seasonal abundance, host-plant associations, altitudinal distribution, habitat preference, and trophic relationships of the recorded taxa. Long-term monitoring across different coffee-growing regions would also help determine changes in species composition associated with plantation management and environmental factors.
Continued surveys covering additional coffee-growing districts and different seasons are likely to reveal further species and distributional records from Karnataka. Such faunistic inventories are important for understanding insect diversity, species distribution, and ecological interactions within coffee agroecosystems and may also provide useful information for future studies on economically important and beneficial hemipteran species.
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