Abstract: From May 2005 to December 2006, six investigations were made on the insect communities in the urban area, farmland, coastal wetland, and forestland in Guangzhou. A total of 10595 specimens were collected, belonging to 216 families and 22 orders. The indices Margalef species richness, Shannon-Wiener diversity, and complexity of community were the highest in forestland, followed by in farmland and urban area, and in coastal wetland; while the dominance index was the highest in coastal wetland, followed by in urban area, farmland, and forestland.
 The temporal dynamics of the diversity indices varied with habitat. The ShannonWiener index and richness index in forestland, farmland, and coastal wetland were the highest in June-July, while those in urban area were the highest the in September-October. The ShannonWiener index and evenness index fluctuated most in farmland, while the richness index and McNaughton index fluctuated most in forestland and urban area, respectively. Forestland and farmland had the highest similarity in term of the numbers of common families, while coastal wetland had
 the most distinct family composition, as compared to other habitats. It could be concluded that the insect diversity and abundance in uangzhou varied with habitat, e.g., forestland had the highest insect diversity because it was less affected by urbanization processes in city, while coastal wetland showed the simplified insect community due to the urbanization. Therefore, during urbanization, it would be necessary to protect the natural environment for the maintenance of biodiversity.

Key words: Water stress, Insect pest, Active oxygen species, Antioxidant enzyme