AN OBSERVATION ON DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTION OF ODONATES IN THE SELECTED SITE OF KANNUR AND WAYANAD DISTRICT, KERALA, INDIA

Odonata are the bioindicators of freshwater ecosystem health and is recognized as an excellent ‘flagship’ group among insects. The present study was carried out in the selected sites of Kannur and Wayanad district of Kerala, India during October 2020 to January 2021. A total of 16 species of odonates belonging to 12 genera and 5 families were recorded from the study area.From the results obtained it could be seen that, Family Libellulidae was dominated with 8 species. Following Libellulidae, Coenagrionidae consisted of 4 species. Family Casopterigidae, Euphaedae, Lestidae and Protonuredae comprised of one species each. In the present study 8 species were spotted commonly, 5 species showed occasional appearance and 3 species showed rare sightings. Almost similar number of species was identified from both the sites.