BOLLINGER COUNTY, Mo. (KTVI) -- An extremely rare dragonfly, a federally endangered species known as a male Hine’s emerald dragonfly, was recently discovered in southern Missouri. The Missouri Department of Conservation has confirmed the sighting of the dragonfly from late June on private land in Bollinger County.

MDC staff and partners spotted the emerald-green insect during routine biological monitoring near a spring-fed wetland known as a karst fen. It was the first such sighting in Bollinger County, raising hope the species could be making a comeback in southern Missouri.

“The Hine’s emerald dragonfly is one of the rarest dragonflies in North America,” said MDC Natural History Biologist Steve Schell via a news release. “It wasn’t known from Missouri until 1999, and since then has onl

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