36 International Journal of Entomology Research www.entomologyjournals.com ISSN: 2455-4758 Received: 07-02-2023, Accepted: 24-02-2023, Published: 11-03-2023 Volume 8, Issue 3, 2023, Page No. 36-41 First report of Zygoptera and Anisoptera (Odonata: Insecta) near Johilla river at Umaria district (M.P.) Dr. Arjun Shukla 1* , Shivanjali Tiwari 2 1 Faculty, Department of Zoology, Govt. M. H. College of H. Science & Science, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India 2 Research Student, Department of Microbiology, Govt. M. H. College of H. Science & Science, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India Abstract Odonates are potential biocontrol agents for many invertebrates, and biodiversity conservation and protection is a national and international agenda that is responsible for the long-term development of a region or country. The first report of Odonates from the Johilla River in Umaria District has been investigated. During the study 35 species of Odonata Belonging to 06 families of 02 Suborder were observed. Out of 35 species recorded, 17 species belonged to family Libellulidae (48%) making it the most specious and dominant family. Second most abundant family was Coenagrionidae (29%) which consisted of 10 species. This was followed by family Lestidae 03 Species (08%), Aeshnidae and Gomphidae both with 2 species (6%) each, Platycnemidiae with 1 species (3%). The Shannon’s Index of odonata H=3.210710732 and Simpson C=0.049064332 was determined. For the first time, a comprehensive catalogue of odonates recorded from the Umaria district's Johila river area is presented. More research is needed to examine sources and a much wider geographic area. Keywords: Odonata, johilla river, species diversity, bio control, first report Introduction Amazing insect species known as odonates have a great chance of surviving and thriving in perennial river systems with a diversity of habitat types. According to Ramesh et al. (2010) [16] , measuring the diversity levels of ecosystem indicator groups should allow for the prediction of the presence of other taxa, emphasising the significance and suitability of utilising invertebrate groups as indicators (Oliver and Beattie, 1993; Pearson, 1994) [14, 15] . Odonata are found on all continents, though tropical forests are typically the richest in species (Kalkman et al., 2008) [10] . Odonates, an order of invertebrate insects that includes dragonflies and damselflies, are constantly alluring to people because of their wide range of colours, agile flight, and exceptional vision. Around 6000 different species of dragonflies were described by Silsby (2001). Though the real number of species may surpass 7,000, the Odonata has about 5,680 species globally. The current rate of new Odonata species descriptions is around 200 per decade (Kalkman et al., 2008) [10] . According to Subramaniam (2009), there are 470 species in 139 genera and 19 families in India. These species are important as markers of the health of the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and also play a crucial role as prey and predators in maintaining the balance of the tropic levels of the food chain. As top predators, they are also a significant and extensive part of freshwater ecosystems (Corbet, 1962) [5] . According to a recent study, around 10% of the world's dragonflies are probably vulnerable, while 35% have insufficient information. (Clausnitzer et al., 2009) [4] . Odonata spend their larval lives in aquatic environments and, as adults, make use of a variety of terrestrial habitats. The Johilla Valley area is bordered by a very diverse range of trees, a small hill, a wide grassland, and a mini-forest; these are the components for designing a suitable habitat for such species. Odonata have been recognised as excellent environmental health indicators and are an accessible category that may be utilised to evaluate the overall biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems (Kalkman et al., 2008, Corbet, 1999) [10] . Materials and methods The present research will be carried out in the Johilla River Umaria district. Umaria District lies under Shahdol, division the surface of the district may be divided in to 4 different Physiographic regions, the shale, sandstone, plateaus and Pindaric basic. It is located between 22 0 Latitude and 82 0 11’Longitude and is situated on the Vindhyan plateau at elevation of 330m. It is a tributary of the Son River, which itself is a tributary of the Ganges River. The Johila (23.645°N 81.236°E) originates at a place called Jwaleshwar in Maikal hills, 10 km from Amarkantak in Anuppur district of Madhya Pradesh. It merges with Son river in Manpur tehsil of Umaria district (Figure 01). Odonata sampling was carried out over a seven-month period, from July 2022 to January 2023. The sites are visited early in the morning from 5-10am, and in the evening from 4-7pm, to record the maximum number of dragonfly species and their activities (Sampling one visit in a week). The current study is based on the population of dragonflies and damselflies. Observations are made by walking a large area of the site with binoculars and digital cameras. The Fauna of British India by Fraser, F.C. (1933, 1934, and 1936) [7, 8, 9] , Mitra, T.R. (2006) [13] , Subramanian, K.A. (2005 and 2009) [20, 21, 2, 9] , Andrew et al., (2009) [2] , taxonomic keys were used for identification. According to Tiple et al., 2008 Protocols, the Odonates were classified based on their abundance in Johilla, which was shortened as VC - Very Common (51-100Sp), C - Common (26-50Sp), R - Rare (11-25Sp), VR - Very Rare (01-10Sp). The Shannon-Weiner diversity index (H) was calculated using Mangurran, A. (1988) Shannon-Weiner equation, and the Simpson index (C) was calculated using Sklar, F.H. (1985) [17] .