Fly's future-proofing.HUNDREDS of a threatened species of damselfly damselfly: see dragonfly. damselfly Any of numerous predaceous insects of the suborder Zygoptera (order Odonata) having eyes that project to each side. have been reintroduced to a nature reserve as part of efforts to secure the insect's future following pioneering work at Liverpool University. The southern damselfly has seen numbers fall by almost a third (30%) in the UK since 1960, and is globally threatened. The small iridescent-blue insect breeds primarily in heathland Noun 1. heathland - a tract of level wasteland; uncultivated land with sandy soil and scrubby vegetation heath barren, wasteland, waste - an uninhabited wilderness that is worthless for cultivation; "the barrens of central Africa"; "the trackless wastes of streams and has been hit by loss and fragmentation of its habitat. Some 500 southern damselflies have been released by Devon Wildlife Trust The Devon Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the county of Devon, England. It is a registered charity and was established in 1962 as the Devon Naturalists Trust. It is a member of The Wildlife Trusts. over the past week at Venn Ottery Nature Reserve, east Devon. The project, funded by the British Dragonfly Society, was the brainchild of David Thompson, professor of conservation biology at Liverpool University's school of biological sciences. He said: "Southern damselflies are a very localised species and find it difficult to disperse to other sites, so reintroductions of this kind are essential to help secure the future of the species." CAPTION(S): A damselfly |
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