Granite Ghosts signal monsoon moisture to the bedrock

July 11, 2026Narmada Valley dry deciduous forests

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(Bradinopyga geminata) arrived at Pashan Lake on July 9, joining over 20 odonate species recorded in the first ten days of the monsoon—a pulse of dragonflies and damselflies triggered by seasonal rains. These small, compact dragonflies breed only in seepage that flows over bare rock, and odonatologists have long used them as a landscape moisture gauge. When Granite Ghosts appear, you know the groundwater has risen all the way to the stone.

The diversity this week speaks to the monsoon's power: alongside the Granite Ghosts came Common Picture Wings, Lesser Emperors, Scarlet Skimmers, and species from every dragonfly lineage present here. Ninety-six odonate records in the past forty-five days mark the seasonal transformation from dry-season scarcity to summer abundance. For now, the landscape is wet all the way down.

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