Empirical Study of Dragonfly, Neurobasis Chinesis as Ecological Indicator in the Freshwater Streams of Keeriparai Forest Eco System of Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu

This paper focuses on the dragonfly Neurobasis chinesis, which belongs to Odonate family, and their existence determines the health of an eco-system. The Nerobasis chinesis is also called as gossamer, due to the coloration of their wings. The study of Neurobasis chinesis dragonfly was initiated in the tail-end hill ranges of the Western Ghats, viz., Kanyakumari District (Keeriparai Forest Range). The altitude of the hills ranges from 100 m – 2695 m covered by evergreen forests. Major emphasis was given to observe the Neurobasis chinesis dragon fly, from various breeding habitats, viz., slow flowing streams, spring pool and rocky pool. The occurrence of Neurobasis chinesis dragon fly was observed against water quality and abundance of plants. We could only see a trend towards Neurobasis chinesis dragonfly occurring in fresh water streams at particular altitude in abundance. Neurobasis chinesis dragonfly species richness therefore appears to be positively associated with vascular plants they feed in fresh water habitat and also unpolluted water steams.