Abstract

Arthropod community structure of golden melon was investigated wherein arthropods were sampled weekly using a modified portable 2-stroke gasolinepowered leaf-blower and vacuum machine (Model number: EBV260E; Power: 0.7 KW/7500 Min.) with a 5 cm diameter inlet cone. Relative Abundance (RA), Frequency of Occurrence (FO), and pest: natural enemy ratio of the specimens were documented. Diversity indices were computed, and spatial distribution patterns of dominant species were determined using Taylor’s and Iwao’s regression models. Forty-eight species belonging to 30 families and 10 orders were recorded. Coleopterans and Hymenopterans were the most diverse orders. Chrysomelid beetles and sap sucking Hemipterans constituted the major pest. Natural enemies; particularly ants, coccinellid beetles, wasps, and spiders were abundant and widely distributed. Dominant pest species (RA > 1.0% and FO > 25.0%) included Aphis gossypii, Aulacophora africana and Bactrocera cucurbitae. Population densities of pests and natural enemies largely peaked within the vegetative to flowering stages. Spatial distribution analyses for the dominant arthropods largely show a tendency to aggregation. Community diversity was high (H = 3.361) with high species richness (R = 6.650) and moderately high evenness (E = 0.600). Pest-natural enemy ratio was 0.78:1. These findings highlight effective biological regulation and ecological stability of the golden melon
agro-ecosystem and underscore the need for conservation based integrated pest management strategies.

Key words: Buzas and Gibson’s evenness, Golden melon, Iwao’s patchiness regression, Shannon-Weiner index, Taylor’s power law, Spatial distribution