Dragonfly and butterfly counts to be carried out at city biodiversity parks

The city is set to see a butterfly and dragonfly count this month at various biodiversity parks, with agencies asking volunteers to take part in the annual assessment.
A dragonfly census, which includes damselflies – members of the odonata family of flying insects, will be held between September 18 and 20 at seven biodiversity parks of the Delhi Development Authority. This includes Neela Hauz, Yamuna Biodiversity Park, Aravalli Biodiversity Park, Tughlakabad, Tilpath Valley, Kamla Nehru and Kalindi biodiversity parks.
Meanwhile, a butterfly count will be held over a period of two weeks, beginning in the last week of September at south Delhi’s Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary (ABWS), officials said. The count is being organised by Delhi’s forest and wildlife department, which is celebrating September as butterfly month.
Forest officials said a dedicated butterfly walk – where people will be taught about different butterflies in Delhi, along with a photography competition are all planned this month. Butterfly month will culminate with a census at Asola Bhatti, it said.
“The count will take place over a period of two weeks, led by a team of experts. Students and volunteers can also join this count. Other than that, a photography contest and a butterfly walk led by Ishtiyaq Ahmed from the Give me Trees Trust (GMTT) will also be held,” said a senior forest official, stating they will announce the final dates of the count in the coming days.
The department is also contemplating cover other spots in Delhi for the butterfly count. “So far, it is only being held at Asola Bhatti,” the official added.
Giving details about the dragonfly and damselfly count, Faiyaz Khudsar, scientist in-charge at DDA’s biodiversity parks programme, said the exercise will be held between September 18 and 20 from 9 am till 11 am. “Dragonflies and damselflies are indicators of a healthy ecosystem. A single dragonfly can consume up to 100 mosquitoes, which also helps regulate their population naturally,” said Khudsar.
In last year’s dragonfly and damselfly census, held from October 5-7, the highest count of 25 different species was recorded at Kamla Nehru Biodiversity Park, followed by 21 species at the Yamuna Biodiversity Park. However, at four of these seven parks, the overall species count has dipped slightly in comparison to 2022.