Exciting dragonfly discovery in France - A Rocha InternationalA Rocha International

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Exciting dragonfly discovery in France

The canal in the Vallée des Baux where Pronged Clubtail has been proved to breed. (A Rocha France)

A Rocha’s Provence centre, Les Tourades, is situated in the Vallée des Baux, one of the best European sites for dragonflies because of its diverse wetlands. Fifty-eight species have now been recorded there by the A Rocha team, including, since 2010, the Pronged Clubtail Gomphus graslinii which is restricted to slow-flowing sections of river, often in hilly terrain. A rare and protected species, it only occurs in France and Iberia.

There was no proof that it bred in the Provence-Alps-Côte d’Azur region until last summer, when an exuvia was found by Timothée Schwartz, the A Rocha France Science Director and Martin Thoris, an A Rocha intern who studied dragonfly distribution for six months. This exuvia (the outer skin of the larva, cast when it leaves the water and takes to the wing) proves that the species has successfully bred, whereas a flying adult could just be a wandering individual.

There are other local sites where Pronged Clubtail has been seen in flight, and so efforts to prove breeding there will continue this year, along with other dragonfly recording.

Small image: Gomphus graslinii (Javier F. Garrido)