Insect fauna of Khajjiar lake of Chamba District,Himachal Pradesh,India

A study was conducted in various seasons of the years from july 2008 to march 2012 in khajjiar lake area which revealed the presence of a total of 121 species of insects belonging to 108 genera spread over 28 families and 8 orders. of these,lepidoptera (49 species) was the most dominant insect order in the present study area,followed by orthoptera (29 species),coleoptera (15 species),odonata (10),hymenoptera (7),hemiptera and diptera (5 each),and homoptera (1 species). out of these only 3 species are placed under wildlife protection act (1972) viz.,lethe scanda and lampides boeticus placed under scheduled ii and castalius rosimon under scheduled iv of the act. out of total 121recorded species from khajjiar lake area,29 species were very common while 68 were common,13 were uncommon and 11 were rare. copyright 2013 zoological society of pakistan.