DNA barcoding reveals insect diversity in the mangrove ecosystems of Hainan Island, China

Insect diversity is an indicator of environmental conditions. Frequent outbreaks of mangrove pests have threatened the fragile mangrove ecosystem in China and the sustainable utilization of mangrove resources. The understanding of mangrove pests, as well as a fundamental knowledge of insect diversity, in mangrove forests in China has been hindered by the difficulty of morphological species delimitation because captured insect specimens are either larvae or incompletely preserved adults. DNA barcoding technology uses only a small amount of DNA to conduct species identification. Taking advantage of this, we investigated the entomofauna of mangrove forests on Hainan Island by using a barcode combining cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and cytochrome-b (Cytb). We collected 627 specimens at six localities around the island, which were identified as 219 insect species belonging to 11 orders and 72 families. Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, and Hymenoptera are the most species-rich and abundant taxa. We also identified 13 mangrove pests, 5 parasitoids, and 12 species of predators.