County recorder and Durham Wildlife Trust Trustee, Michael Coates said: “This is fantastic news. With sightings at the same reserve two years in a row, we believe that Joe’s Pond could become the most northerly breeding site in the UK, and shows once again why it is a special site for nature”.

The willow emerald is one of the emerald group of damselflies - all of which share a similar colouration - and gets its name because it lays its eggs in the branches of trees, typically willows, that overhang water. When the egg hatches it drops from the branch, leaving a tell-tale scar and we will be monitoring the trees between now and the next season.

As they are easily confused with the more common emerald damselfly, Michael has asked that anyone visiting Rainton Meadows, but particularly Joe’s Pond, take a photograph of any green/light brown damselfly, and submit it using this online form:

https://survey.protostarsurveys.com/zs/o6zhYB

Use the photos attached to this post to help with identification, but do not be afraid to guess, as Michael will check each sighting and confirm which species it was.

We are keen to try to understand how many individuals there are and we are especially on the lookout for a male, now that we know there is a female there.