Divya Bharathi - Deputy Conservator of Forests, Melghat Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra, India.
Pankaj Koparde - School of Sustainable Development, Faculty of Sustainability Studies, Dr. Vishwanath Karad MIT World Peace University, Pune, Maharashtra, India.

View on Scopus 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 ۲۰۱۹ and ۲۰۲۱. In this report, the presence of ۳۵ species from the study area, representing around ۱/۴th 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.

Central India, Vidarbha, diversity, occurrence, species richness, reserved forest