1.3.2. The estimated taxonomic richness of insects


Surprisingly, the figures given above, which represent the cumulative effort by many insect taxonomists from all parts of the world over some 250 years, appear to represent something less than the true species richness of the insects. Just how far short is the subject of continuing speculation. Given the very high numbers and the patchy distributions of many insects in time and space, it is impossible in our time-scales to inventory (count and document) all species even for a small area. Extrapolations are required to estimate total species richness, which range from some three million to as many as 80 million species. These various calculations either extrapolate ratios for richness in one taxonomic group (or area) to another unrelated group (or area), or use a hierarchical scaling ratio, extrapolated from a subgroup (or subordinate area) to a more inclusive group (or wider area).

Generally, ratios derived from temperate : tropical species numbers for well-known groups such as vertebrates provide rather conservatively low estimates if used to extrapolate from temperate insect taxa to essentially unknown tropical insect faunas. The most controversial estimation, based on hierarchical scaling and providing the highest estimated total species numbers, was an extrapolation from samples from a single tree species to global rainforest insect species richness. Sampling used insecticidal fog to assess the little-known fauna of the upper layers (the canopy) of neotropical rainforest. Much of this estimated increase in species richness was derived from arboreal beetles (Coleoptera), but several other canopy-dwelling groups were much more numerous than believed previously. Key factors in calculating tropical diversity included identification of the number of beetle species found, estimation of the proportion of novel (previously unseen) groups, allocation to feeding groups, estimation of the degree of host-specificity to the surveyed tree species, and the ratio of beetles to other arthropods. Certain assumptions have been tested and found to be suspect: notably, host-plant specificity of herbivorous insects, at least in Papua New Guinean tropical forest, seems very much less than estimated early in this debate.

Estimates of global insect diversity calculated from experts’ assessments of the proportion of undescribed versus described species amongst their study insects tend to be comparatively low. Belief in lower numbers of species comes from our general inability to confirm the prediction, which is a logical consequence of the high species-richness estimates, that insect samples ought to contain very high proportions of previously unrecognized and/or undescribed (“novel”) taxa. Obviously any expectation of an even spread of novel species is unrealistic, since some groups and regions of the world are poorly known compared to others. However, amongst the minor (less species-rich) orders there is little or no scope for dramatically increased, unrecognized species richness. Very high levels of novelty, if they exist, realistically could only be amongst the Coleoptera, drab-colored Lepidoptera, phytophagous Diptera, and parasitic Hymenoptera.

Some (but not all) recent re-analyses tend towards lower estimates derived from taxonomists’ calculations and extrapolations from regional sampling rather than those derived from ecological scaling: a figure of between four and six million species of insects appears realistic.

Chapter 1