News Excerpt:
Researchers of the Shadpada Entomology Research Lab (SERL) of Christ College, Irinjalakuda, have reported two species of flower flies for the first time from Kerala.
More about News:
- Mesembrius bengalensis and M. quadrivittatus have been discovered from the Kole wetlands and Vilagan Kunnu hillocks of Thrissur district of Kerala.
Flower flies:
- Flower flies belong to the family Syrphidae of order Diptera and are commonly called flower files because they are frequent visitors of flowers like bees and wasps. They are flies that evolved to mimic bees or wasps to escape from their predators.
- Flower flies are important pollinators. Larvae of these flies are excellent biological control agents and nutrient recyclers.
- A literature survey by the same team revealed a rich diversity of 59 species of flower flies from Kerala. These new records add two more species to the existing list.
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Kole wetland:
- Kole is one of the largest and most important wetlands of Kerala. It is also one of the most threatened wetlands in the State.
- The Kole wetland is spread over Thrissur and Malappuram districts of Kerala extending from the northern bank of Chalakudy river in the south to the southern bank of Bharathapuzha river in the north.
- The name Kole refers to the peculiar cultivation practice carried out from December to May. “Kole”, a Malayalam word, indicates a field that gives a bumper crop, so long as floods do not damage it.
- Kole wetland is selected as an IBA (Important Bird Area) as it perfectly fits three criteria:
- It has many globally Threatened and Near Threatened species;
- It has 1% of the biogeographic population of Indian Whiskered Tern, Garganey and Gull-billed Tern, and
- It has 20,000 waterbirds.
- In 2002, it was declared a Ramsar site as a wetland of international importance.
- As a very large number of people live in and directly benefit from Kole wetland, there is a great opportunity to develop it into a multiple-use wetland under the Ramsar Convention.
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