AN INSECT previously though to be extinct has been spotted near Porthmadog.

A sighting of small bluetail (or scarce blue-tailed) damselfly, Ischnura pumilio, was recently made at Traeth Glaslyn Nature Reserve.

Long-time North Wales Wildlife Trust supporter Andrew Graham recorded this species for the first time at the site and took a photo in mid-May – it’s also the first record for the wider area since 1976.

This species, often confused with the more common blue-tailed damselfly (Ischnura elegans), was thought to be extinct at the end of the 19th century and is still classed as nationally scarce.

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