Abstract: To clarify the changes of functional guild structure and diversity of insect community in Mingcui Lake wetland, an investigation was conducted by sweep net and fall trap from May to October in 2016. In total, 11780 individuals of insects were sampled, belonging to 271 species, 81 families and 11 orders. They were classified into four subcommunities and eight functional guilds according to feeding habits. The temporal variations of species diversity, functional guild and subcommunity were analyzed. The results showed that piercing sucking insects, neutral insects and parasitic insects were the dominant guilds, accounting for 35.02%, 32.67% and 13.51% of the total individuals, respectively. The dominant insect species belonged to Chironomids, which accounted for 20.44% of the total abundance. In different seasons, the relative richness of phytophagous and neutral insects was generally higher than that of parasitic and predatory insects. The abundance of dominant groups in different functional guilds varied greatly with seasons. The relative stability of insect communities exhibited fluctuations among different months, but the seasonal succession of insect community was distinct.

Key words: environmental gradient, Karst tiankeng, talus slope, niche