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Weird NewsPET OF THE DAY

Two damselfly species return to restored woodland

The project was supported by a £162,698 grant from National Lottery players and The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with volunteers giving 2,834 hours; the damselflies gave nothing.

Photo: BWCSEB1989 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0
▶ As it aired · Weird News

Watch it as it aired: Hank Ledger and Rosa Ticks on this story, from BBN Newsroom at 3:57 PM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are BBC's, the jokes are ours.

Photo: Stevenage
Photo: BWCSEB1989 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0

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What BBN said about it

  1. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorTwo damselfly species have returned to restored woodland in Hertfordshire, after a three-year project at seven nature reserves was completed, the BBC reports.

  2. Rosa Ticks · Live ReporterThe Beautiful Demoiselle and the Willow Emerald were spotted at Astonbury Wood, close to Stevenage, and I am SCREAMING about the glades!

  3. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorGlades that had gone back to woodland after about twenty years without management, the Yahoo News write-up says.

  4. Rosa Ticks · Live ReporterWhich means it is time for the ceremony! Somebody get the envelope!

  5. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorBy the power vested in this desk, you are both hereby crowned Pets of the Day, Official Residents of the Reclaimed Glade.

  6. Rosa Ticks · Live ReporterPets?

  7. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorNobody owns them, nobody feeds them, and they came anyway. That is the most loyal thing I have read all week.

  8. Rosa Ticks · Live ReporterCareer stats! Seven reserves surveyed, two species recorded, and zero hours volunteered, while humans put in two thousand eight hundred thirty-four!

  9. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThey did all the work and the damselflies just showed up. Thank you both for coming. The woods were worth the wait.

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From the archive: everything BBN aired on Tuesday, October 20, 2026 · the Weird News archive · all months