INSECT enthusiasts are making a beeline for Caen Hill lock flight on the Kennet and Avon Canal in Devizes after a rare dragonfly was seen there.

It is the first time the Scarce Chaser dragonfly (libellula fulva) has been recorded at the spot.

They have been seen around the lock pounds, the reservoirs for each of the 29 locks on the flights.

According to Steve Covey, the county recorder for Odonata (the group name for dragonflies and damselflies), it is likely that climate change is behind its appearance, because as temperatures warm up dragonflies are using habitat they previously considered to be unsuitable.

He said: "A well-used canal like the Kennet and Avon makes good hunting but poor breeding grounds for dragonflies because there is so much turbulence.

"But at Caen Hill I found young, newly-emerged Scarce Chasers, which indicates they are actually breeding there.

"The ponds provide a suitable habitat for them as they receive flowing water but are much quieter than the main stretch."

With the help of the Wiltshire and Swindon Biological Records Centre (WSBRC), Mr Covey is recording and mapping the exact whereabouts of dragonflies and damselflies around the county to create a dragonfly atlas.

The Wiltshire atlas will become a baseline against which any changes in dragonfly populations can be mapped to aid their conservation.

As its name suggests, the Scarce Chaser is extremely rare in Britain. It is restricted to around ten scattered river systems and still waters in southern England, so its arrival in the Devizes area has caused major excitement.

It can be found from southern France to northern Germany and east throughout central Europe to Russia.

It is not the first time it has been seen in Wiltshire, though it previously has only been seen around the River Avon in the south of the county.