Abstract: To understand the taxonomic diversity, abundance and main characteristics of herbivorous insects in mangrove plants among different seasons, at different tidal levels and on different host plants, and their effects on mangrove canopy, and thus to assess the effects of phytophagous insects on mangrove community succession, five sections were established during the rainy (July) and dry (February) seasons. Insects were collected from different plant species in each section to estimate leaf feeding rate at high tide (H), mid-tide (M), and low tide level (L). Abundance and diversity of phytophagous insects were recorded. A total of 23 species of phytophagous insects were identified; with 13 species from Lepidoptera, 8 from Coleoptera, 1 from Orthoptera, and 1 from Acariforms. The abundant species were Ptyomaxia sp.,Lasiognatha cellifera,Chalioides kondonis,Ricaniasp., Phyllocnistis sp., Chalin larminati, and Lepidosaphes sp. The frequency of occurrence of Ricania sp. in rainy season and dry season was the highest (7.31 head·branch^-1). Leaf ingestion rate of mangrove plants in different sections was in a sequence of C5 > C2 ≥ C3 ≥ C1 in dry season and C5 > C2 ≥ C3 ≥ C4 in rainy season. In dry season, leaf feeding rate at different tidal levels followed the sequence of midtide ≥ high tide > low tide; in rainy season, it was midtide > low tide > high tide. The leaf feeding rate of different tree species during the dry season was Kandelia candel ≥Aegiceras corniculatum ≥Rhizophora stylosa ≥Avicennia marina, while in rainy season, it was K. candel > A. corniculatum>A. marina ≥R. stylosa ≥Bruguiera gymnorhiza ≥Sonneratia apetala ≥Excoecaria agallocha. Insects on the leaves of mangrove plants were generally small in stature, mainly phytophagous, and most of them have leaf-curling habits and adhesion characters. Species of natural predatory insects, such as ants, parasitoids and predatory spiders, are few. Once the abundance increases, those insects may become pests, with consequences on canopy stability. Therefore, phytophagous insects can influence the succession of mangrove communities.

Key words: legume-oat intercropping, nifH gene, high-throughput sequencing, real-time PCR, community composition.