Aquatic habitats and biodiversity are in peril around the world. Anthropogenic impacts on these systems are immense and complex due to habitat degradation and water pollution. Aquatic macroinvertebrates are used as bioindicators in-order to study current aquatic habitat health. Order Odonata, commonly known as dragonflies and damselflies and are found across the globe. Order Odonata is a very understudied group in many regions of the United States. The current citizen science database focused on the distribution, biogeography, biodiversity, and identification of order Odonata is called Odonata Central (www.odonatacentral.org). The south central region of Virginia, including Prince Edward County and its neighboring 7 counties (Amelia, Appomattox, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Lunenburg, and Nottoway) are one of these understudied regions for Odonate biodiversity. When examining the surrounding counties, only 174 records have been recorded between 2002 and 2021 on Odonata Central. In total, 80 unique species had been identified during that time period in those counties with lowest county diversity consisting of 3 species and the highest county diversity having 42 identified species. Six of the eight counties have less than 20 species identified.
This presentation will focus on data collected in Prince Edward County. Over the past four years (2022-2025), field surveys were conducted from early April to late October. Streams, rivers, wetlands, ponds, lakes, meadows, and other habitats favored by adult odonates were surveyed. Aerial nets and photography were used to capture physical specimens and detailed images that could be used for identification. Specimen vouchers (male and female) were preserved for a reference collection. When surveys first started, only 18 species had been documented in Prince Edward County. Current species richness now stands at 68 species. This large spike in known diversity wasn’t just due to the field surveys that were conducted. Citizen science observations that were posted to Odonata Central and iNaturalist were key in helping to find rarer species. This study demonstrates how scientific survey along with citizen science platforms can be vital in documenting the biodiversity of specific groups of organisms, especially in regions where they are understudied.