A 4-month dragonfly survey has recently concluded at the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS). The survey has spotted 84 species of odonates (order of insects comprising dragonflies and damselflies) belonging to 59 genera under 11 families.
Key Points
- The survey was jointly conducted by the Forest Department and Ferns Nature Conservation Society (FNCS).
- Out of the 84 species that have spotted, 35 damselflies were and 49 were dragonflies.
- Before this, a previous survey had identified 75 species of odonates belonging to 50 genera under 11 families. The survey was conducted by the Malabar Natural History Society (MNHS) in the sanctuary in the year 2016.
- As odonates are amphibiotic insects, the survey focused more on water bodies in the sanctuary.
- As per the results, streams had the most number of endemic species but ponds were the richest in terms of species.
- The survey was conducted from August to November 2020. During the survey period, the water bodies in the sanctuary were full after the southwest monsoon.
- The team covered 28 streams, 33 ponds, and 12 swamps of the 344.44-sq.km sanctuary spread over four forest ranges.
- This is the time when a large number of adult odonates can be seen flying around, mating, jostling, and laying eggs in water.
- They live as aquatic nymphs for a few months and later emerge out as aerial predators we commonly see.
- Coorg False Spreadwing [Indolestes pulcherrimus] was first time spotted in the sanctuary, which is a first for the State.
- The rare damselfly was earlier thought to be restricted to the Coorg region of Karnataka.
- Some other rare odonates spotted were Azure Dartlet (Amphiallagma parvum) and Restless Demon (Indothemis limbata).
Odonates are good bioindicators and help the scientific community assess the health of freshwater ecosystems. The Forest Department is also planning to extend the study on odonates across all seasons to document their diversity in the sanctuary.
