11 Sep
100 Ponds Project Brings Hope for the Northern Damselfly

100 Ponds Project Brings Hope for the Northern Damselfly

11/09/2025

Cairngorms National Park have been working with The British Dragonfly Society and landowners across Deeside and Speyside to improve habitat for the Northern Damselfly.  This beautiful species, with their dazzling bluey-green colouration are often overlooked as they are low-flying in amongst the sedges of ponds and small lochans.  It is listed as endangered in the UK, is a priority species in the Cairngorms National Park and is only recorded in a few corners of the Scottish Highlands in the UK.

Northern Damselfly larva.
Northern Damselflies, male and female copulating – credit: Ewoud Van Der Ploeg.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Habitat loss and climate change are suspected for its decline, but we are trying to help by restoring and managing existing ponds for breeding, and creating a network of new ponds between these to connect the habitat.  Proof of success already was found at several ponds in Deeside worked on during winter 2024, with Northern Damselfly present during a survey in May.

Training up volunteers to be confident in survey and identification of the flying adults and the aquatic larvae has been delivered over this flight season.  Now the adults are no longer on the wing, we can still find the larvae in the edges of the ponds as they are active into October – they are more hardy in the colder temperatures than other species!

Linsley Roger inspecting larva with hand-lens at Rothiemurchus pond with volunteers surveying.
Rothiemurchus larval training workshop in Speyside on August 2025.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So if you fancy a go at learning to find and identify the larvae, then we have more training dates on offer over Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st September 2025 for our last hurrah of the summer, in both Deeside and Perthshire.  Get in touch with Jen Davidson, Scotland Conservation Officer for British Dragonfly Society Jennifer.davidson@british-dragonflies.org.uk.

Jen Davidson at newly restored pond October 2024, in Deeside where Northern Damselflies were recorded in May 2025.

 

Thank you so much to project funders, CGNP and BMW Recharge in Nature.