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River Dee Club-tailed Dragonfly survey

River Dee Club-tailed Dragonfly survey best yet

We recently organised another survey of the River Dee for Club-tailed Dragonfly (Gomphus vulgatissimus) and came back with astonishingly good results. A team of six, lead by local expert Andy Harmer, recorded 103 emergence records along just one bank of a 500 metre stretch of river just South of Farndon.

Andy Harmer said, "A whopping 97 exuvia [nymph cases] were collected, but another five were left as the adults were still emerging, so that totals an incredible 103 emergence records. The adult tally alone was 63 plus a full set of wings left behind from one unlucky dragonfly that must have been eaten by a predator just after it emerged - but it can be safely added to the results to total 64!"

NWWT Conservation Officer, Adrian Lloyd Jones said, "Due to the late start to Spring we weren't confident of finding any, but to our amazement they were plentiful. It was also great to get the chance to see the dragonflies actually emerging from their exuvia before our very eyes!" He added, "To our knowledge this is the most successful survey for Club-tailed Dragonfly yet undertaken on the River Dee. We are delighted with these results which show just how important the River Dee is for the species."