A rare dragonfly caused much excitement when it was rescued from the water of a nature reserve.
The club-tailed dragonfly was saved by wetland boat safari guide Joel Coram at WWT Arundel Wetland Centre on Sunday.
Club-tailed dragonflies are classified as nationally notable as they only breed on five UK rivers - the Arun, Thames, Wey, Dee and Severn.
The insects are only seen at Arundel Wetland Centre every few years and they are listed in the Sussex Rare Species Inventory.
Joel has been driving for the Wetland Safari Boats at WWT Arundel for three years as part of the learning team.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen a club-tail dragonfly,” he said.
“I spotted it struggling on a lily pad in the water and its wings were wet.”
Joel picked the dragonfly up and it spent the rest of the 20-minute trip on his hand, drying out its wings.
When he pulled the boat in at the dock, the dragonfly departed.
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Club-tails are a medium-sized dragonfly, easily identified by their club shaped tail and distinctly separate eyes. The eyes of most dragonflies meet on top of their head. Club-tails emerge yellow in colour. The males turn green as they mature, including their eyes, while the females remain yellow and have a thicker abdomen.
According to David Chelmick, from the British Dragonfly Society, a club-tailed dragonfly’s life cycle is two to three years, from egg to adult, “which is likely why the sightings are two to three years apart”, he said.
Mr Chelmick visited Arundel Wetland Centre in 2012 after early sightings of the dragonflies and declared that the channels and waterways in the wetland reserve are their ideal habitat.
He was doing a five-year survey of the River Arun to further understand what features of the river suit the club-tail dragonfly, which does not live on any other Sussex or southern flowing English river.
WWT Arundel reserve manager Suzi Lanaway said: “In June and early July the breeding male club-tailed dragonflies hold a territory and drive other males from their area so they can mate with any nearby females.”
The Wetland Boat Safari runs daily at WWT Arundel Wetland Centre. People can book at the admission desk for £3 per person and go dragonfly spotting this June.
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