المملكة: Of them 1270 butterfly .. Saudi Arabia records 7309 different insects

Professor Mohamed Salam Shabraq, Advisor to the National Center for Wildlife Development and expert of internationally recognized birds, stressed that the protection of insects is an urgent necessity to protect the birds that depend mainly on their food, expressing his great concern about scientific studies that indicate the decrease in the number of insects globally by up to 40%.
He warned that this sharp decline not only threatens the survival of many types of birds, but may cause a deep imbalance in the environmental balance, with possible repercussions that may affect the future of the agricultural sector, which was recently highlighted through the slogan of the World Migratory Days for the year 2024 “insect protection, bird protection”.

Infinter diversity in the Kingdom

Professor Shabraq, who participates in his experience in international scientific committees, explained that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia embraces a large diversity of insects estimated at about 7309 registered types.
He pointed to the importance of vital ranks such as the scouts of the wings “butterflies and mrings”, which constitute about 17.8% of these types, and the rank of membranes of the wings “bees and ants” that represent 14%, both of which play a decisive role in pollinating plants and flowers. In addition to the rank of “beetles” wings, which includes about 1945 species.

These three ranks combined constitutes about 58% of the insects known in the Kingdom, and unfortunately among the groups most affected by the global decrease, estimated at 40%.
The Saudi expert attributed the reasons for this disturbing deterioration in the numbers of insects to a group of interlocking factors, most notably the wide use of insecticides that leave long -term harmful effects in the environment and negatively affect human health, in addition to forest fires, desertification, the spread of invasive species, pollution, and climate change.

He stressed that the seriousness of the situation prompted major international agreements, such as the agreement of migratory species «CMS) and the Convention on the Biological Diversity“ CBD ”, to emphasize the importance of insect protection, indicating that the issue of its decrease has become one of the urgent environmental issues globally for its multi -faceted influence on birds, economics and human health.

Ecosystem

Professor Shabraq stressed the importance of the slogan of the International Day of Migratory Birds for the year 2024, explaining that insects are the primary food for many birds, and that some birds, such as the amoor falcon, have adapted to the timing of their migration with the migration of certain types of insects such as sail fabric to ensure food.

He cautioned that the decrease in the number of pollinations, such as bees, does not only affect the production of honey, but also threatens the productivity of the basic agricultural crops of humans, which may cause economic losses and increase the risk of desertification.
He gave realistic examples of the influence of these changes, such as the influence of a migrant Eurasian fly fly in the north of the Kingdom, which leads to no coincidence of its arrival with the abundance of butterflies, threatening the survival of its chicks.

He pointed to local studies linking the death of Samar trees in the Kingdom with a excavator butterfly, and the role of unjust hunting for income birds that feed on these larvae in exacerbation of the problem.
He referred to the wonders of the world of insects, such as the long underground cycada life cycle, and its important role in providing food for birds when they appear, as an example of careful interdependence in environmental systems and the importance of preserving them.