What dragonflies tell us about the state of our waterbodies
Dragons and damsels lay their eggs in and under water and that water must meet quality standards required for the species: some can tolerate fairly polluted waters, most cannot
In the Western Ghats, studies show that the number of dragonflies has reduced by a 35 per cent in just two years (Ranjit Lal) In their own right, they are magnificent, well-armed flying machines, taking down flies (as many as 40 in an hour), mosquitoes and other flying insects (including others of their kind) in mid-air, fiercely dogfighting each other for air space which they assiduously patrol. It’s something they have been doing for the past 250 to 300 million years, when incidentally they were much larger (with 70 cm wingspans). Equipped with great jewel compound eyes, with 30,000 lenses, and a rotating head, they can see virtually 360 degrees, and are armed with barbed legs, useless for walking but eminently suited for scooping up victims. They also have unparalleled flight dynamics. They can hover, dodge sideways, and fly backwards, straight up or down – their four strong cellophane wings being independently powered by huge muscles that are directly connected to their wings. Top speed has been reckoned at 58 kmph, and their abdomens are so designed in segments so as to absorb the shock of impact when they slam into their victims. They come in an exotic array of colours and patterns, gold, electric blue, black, bottle green, sunset orange, fire-engine red, garnet and ruby. Dragons are stouter, bigger and more robust than the damsels, who are needle slim and stay close and virtually invisible near the surface of a water body. Dragons rest with their wings outspread, damsels with wings demurely folded along their fuselages.
Most surprisingly, they spend most of their lives in the guise of fearsomely armed ‘nymphs’ or naiads – underwater, for as many as up to five years, terrorising small fish and tadpoles with their prehensile flick-knife like mandibles, swiftly moving with the help of jet-propelled enemas, before finally moulting and crawling up a stem or stalk and transforming in the sun into the master areal hunters that they are.
Of the some 5,000 species worldwide, India has around 500 (Delhi about 50), and Dragonfly month is celebrated in August which is the best month to see them. And now, the dragons are down! Lady dragons and damsels lay their eggs in and under water – in streams, rivers, lakes, (and even swimming pools) and that water must meet quality standards required for the species: some can tolerate fairly polluted waters, most not. A two-year study and survey conducted between 2021 and 2023 – in some of their hotspot habitats — the Western Ghats, spanning five states, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Goa and Gujarat, by the MIT-World Peace University and Society for Odonata Studies, revealed a whopping 35 per cent decline in the number of species observed, many of them endemic.
Endemic species are usually fussy and particular about the kind of habitats they choose to live and reproduce in, and these guys are clearly sending out huge warning signals: The water is too polluted, degraded and disturbed, for them to lay their eggs in, and even if they do, for their nymphs to survive. And behind it are the usual suspects: pollution, reckless infrastructure development, quarrying and mining, rampant building of hydroelectric power plants, climate change, irresponsible tourism, fragmentation, et al. All this coming from one of the world’s top biodiversity hotspots, which ought to be guarded zealously, with pride, and not ravaged and made sewer-filthy.
Of the some 5,000 species worldwide, India has around 500 (Delhi about 50), and Dragonfly month is celebrated in August which is the best month to see them (Ranjit Lal)
Of the 144 species accounted for (historical figures from here were 222 species) in the survey, 40 were endemic, of which several were now MIA (missing in action). I checked out the three missing species, which had been named – and not surprisingly two of these were damselflies. Two have common names: the red spot reed-tail damselfly (Protostaticta sanguinostigma), and the Y-marked clubtail (Cyclogomphus ypilson) a stout, turquoise-eyed dragonfly. I could not find a common name for the third, Ellatoneura souleri. All three are breathtakingly beautiful – particularly the damsels. Many dragonflies and damselflies now do have common names, which ought to help popularize them, but like most insects, they still need more publicity.
All you need to do to get entranced by them, is to observe them: On dewy winter mornings, they can be found, staying stock still on leaves and grasses, their wings pearled with dew as they wait for the sun to warm up their mighty flight muscles to operating temperatures. During the day, follow their flight with a pair of binoculars. Many patrol their hunting blocks in a systematic way, driving out (or bringing down) interlopers. Victims may be eaten in flight, or brought to a grass stalk or stem and devoured. Watch them perform their beautiful courtship rituals, daisy-chained to each other, heart-shaped, as they come together and mate. And yes, they may be the victims too, snapped up in mid-air and then smashed by dexterous bee-eaters. Others – like the few I encountered in the pool in Goa – may crash-land in the water, or are brought down during dogfights. They drown pretty quickly, possibly due to the chlorine in the water. One evening, a large dragonfly buzzed ferociously into the balcony and settled on a lampshade making me wonder if like moths it had been attracted to the light.
While they neither bite nor sting, they have been called the devil’s darning needles and been accused of sewing up the mouths of little children. And also, ‘horse stingers’ because they are often found near horses, actually hunting down pesky horseflies which bother the animals. They are crisply fried as a snack in Indonesia, but have been long revered in Japan whose ancient name was Akitsushimu, meaning Dragonfly Island and were thought to be the spirit of the rice plant. Children have nastily, often tethered them to strings and ‘flown’ them like planes and yes, they do remind one of the WW I biplanes of yesteryear!
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