No virus, no lockdown, no pandemic can deter nature lovers from pursuing their passion.
Dragonfly enthusiasts of Kerala proved it by organising ‘Lockdown Odonata Watch’ to record 95 rare and endemic species.
Dragonflies thrive in waterbodies and emerge one by one when summer showers wet the parched lands after the dry months of March and April. So in May, the ‘odonutters’ (serious dragonfly watchers) would rush to wetlands and forested streams, eager to welcome the newborns.
But, things took a turn for the worse this year for odonutters with the lockdown coming into force. For them, “Lockdown Odonata Watch” was a perfect opportunity to look for flying jewels in their own backyards.
Organised by the Society For Odonate Studies (SOS), the exercise was conducted through the Dragonflies of Kerala Facebook forum, the social media arm of SOS. Its members were requested to share photographs or check-lists of odonata from their neighbourhoods with details.
A total of 95 species were recorded, including many rare and endemic species from the 14 districts. Of them, 20 are endemic. Altogether, 326 observations were made by the 62 participants, including laymen, students, teachers, doctors, engineers, public servants, and researchers.
Reji Chandran, an avid odonata enthusiast from Thiruvananthapuram, alone documented 64 species, including rare ones such as the Myristica swamp associated Myristica Sapphire ( Calocypha laidlawi ). Sujith V. Gopalan, a conservation biologist from Idukki, noted 51 species, including Forest Spreadwing ( Lestes dorothea ) a recent addition to the Kerala check-list.
Rare find from well
The naturalist community watched in awe when Rison Thumboor, a seasoned odonata watcher, documented a juvenile Hemicordulia asiatica from his well in the backyard in Thumboor, near Chalakudy. “This rare and elusive dragonfly was rediscovered after 80 years from the Periyar Tiger Reserve a couple of years ago by the studies conducted by SOS and Rison’s observations have thrown further light into the lifecycle of this beautiful insect,” says Sujith, executive member, SOS.
Other interesting findings were Giant Clubtail ( Megalogomphus hannyngtoni ) by Nithya S.V. from Punalur and Goan Shadowdancer ( Idionyx gomantakensis ), a species recently spotted from Goa, observed by Thomson Saburaj from Vithura. In addition, Renjith Jacob Mathews from Kothamangalam documented 25 species, Renju from Alappuzha 23 species, and Vibhu from Payyavur could identify 19. SOS is gearing up to study the odonata diversity outside the protected areas, adds SOS treasurer Muhammed Sherif.
