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Articles

Vol. 2 (2025): KolaDaisi University Journal of Applied Sciences

Insect Populations in Heavy Metal Polluted Environment in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17438219
Submitted
October 24, 2025
Published
September 20, 2025

Abstract

Insects form a major part of the ecosystem and serve as tools for ecosystem management and conservation. Insect populations and fitness is however disturbed by environmental factors like heavy metal Pollution. Thus, the purpose of this research was to examine the populations of insects found in Ori-Ile village and its environs in Egbeda Local Government Area of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Ori-Ile village which was formally a battery waste dumpsite, has been ascertained from previous studies, to contained heavy metals in its soil. Insects were collected using sweep net and handpicking methods forth nightly every month from the study area (Oril-Ile, Majue 1, Majue 2 and Ogunbade- Egberi) for 18 months, between April 2016 to September 2017. Insect specimens collected were identified using comparative morphology with preserved insect specimens at the Departmental Museum, Zoology Department, University of Ibadan and at the insect museum in the Department of crop protection and Environmental Biology, University of Ibadan. In all, 8,917 insects from 22 species and 6 orders were gathered from the study sites. The most prevalent category of insects, according to the results of the descriptive statistics used to analyse the data, were Hymenoptera (98.74%) > Lepidoptera (0.93%) > Orthoptera (0.18) > Odonata (0.07%) > Coleoptra (0.07) > Heteroptra (0.01). Majue 1 has the highest diversity index (Shanon's index (H) = 0.54) and richness index (Margalef's index (D) = 1.88). With an Evenness value (E = 0.13), Ogunbade-Egberi (the control site) had the highest evenness. According to the study, lepidopterans were the most varied and hymenopterans the most prevalent. In conclusion, this initial survey demonstrated that the research area has a high diversity and number of insects. Thus, this finding provides a basis for future investigation