Records of Dragonflies & Damselflies (Insecta: Odonata) from Gondia district, Maharashtra, India

Abstract

. The Vidarbha region of India harbours a significant amount of biodiversity. However, the region still severely lacks data on lesser-known taxa such as odonates (dragonflies and damselflies). To partially fill in the knowledge gap on odonates, opportunistic surveys were conducted across nine sites in the Gondia district of Vidarbha between 2019 and 2021. In this report, the presence of 35 species from the study area, representing around 1/4 th of the total odonate diversity of Maharashtra is recorded. The results are indicative of the need for consistent sampling efforts in the region. Further systematic and long-term monitoring studies on odonates in Vidarbha Region are proposed.