Today, our focus is on a smaller group of animals, but who provide a great service to maintain the equilibrium of ecosystems They become prey for fish, lizards and frogs like animals who are in the upper stages of the food chains to maintain that equilibrium. They are none other than dragonflies that belong to the order Odonata. Various research suggests that they and their suborder Damselflies as very much suited bioindicators to determine the quality of environments such as aquatic ecosystems. They lay eggs in clean freshwater or near such places according to their reproductive preferences. That is why, if they are abundant around some area, it provides a good indicator of a quality ecosystem and freshwater sources around it. Their sensitivity to the quality of their habitat and their amphibious life cycle makes them a good factor to evaluate the environmental changes. While being a predator to mosquitoes, flies like organisms, they act as biocontrol agents against harmful insects or pests in coffee like cultivations. According to the EU Red Data Book, order Odonata consists of around 5680 species being a smaller order compared to other insect orders. They are common in tropical countries like Sri Lanka and India. Currently, they are having an unfortunate destiny due to environmental pollution caused by agrochemicals such as synthetic pesticides and insecticides and due to habitat loss caused by moderations of marshes. So, you can try to help their existence by simply making a small pond of around 1-2 feet depth in a high time of environmental pollution.
