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The present study was carried out in two adjacent areas of a natural forest and jhumland ecosystem in Mopungchuket village and Chuchuyimpang village respectively, under Mokokchung district, Nagaland, which lies at 26 o 11' 36'' North latitude and in between 94 o 17' 44'' to 94 o 45' 42'' (E) longitude. The study was conducted during January 2009 to December 2011. The vertical distribution and abundance of total soil Acarina were found to be more in the natural forest ecosystem (424.82 x 10 2 m-2) than jhum land ecosystem (264.70 x 10 2 m-2) and showed a significant decrease from upper layer to deeper layers i.e., from 0 cm to 30 cm depth. The soil Acarina showed a higher population in the natural forest, with the different values during the different seasons being 231.37 x 10 2 m-2 (rainy season), 116.20 x 10 2 m-2 (summer) and 77.25 x 10 2 m-2 (winter season) respectively. The physico-chemical factors exhibited significant correlation with soil Acarina except soil potassium. The community analysis was carried out for soil Acarina because they are one of the major groups of soil microarthropods and their contributions are maximum in term of species, abundance and distribution.

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Background A survey was executed to estimate the extent of entomophagy practiced by the tribal population in Nagaland. From the survey, two consumed stink bugs, namely Tessaratoma javanica and Coridius singhalanus, were assessed. Nutrient contents were assessed following the AOAC guidelines and elements were quantised using ICP-OES. Results About 55% of the people surveyed consumed T. javanica, and 49% were consumers of C. singhalanus. The survey also indicated that the non-consumer respondents did not have any aversion towards the consumption of these insects. Biochemical analysis revealed that except for carbohydrate and moisture contents, all the other evaluated parameters (ash, crude fats, crude protein, and fibre content) were found to be comparatively higher in C. singhalanus, although the difference was significant (p ≤ 0.05) only for crude fat, carbohydrate, and fibre content. Trace elements analysis revealed that calcium (107.74 ± 0.213 mg/100 g), iron (22.17 ± 0.080 mg/100 g), and sodium (120.34 ± 0.214 mg/100 g) contents were significantly higher in T. javanica, whereas magnesium (76.06 ± 0.166 mg/100 g) content was significantly higher in C. singhalanus. Conclusions Both the bugs show good nutritive contents and are liked for their distinctive smell and flavour.