Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) is a common and widespread damselfly species in Monmouthshire; a red damselfly seen in the county will almost certainly be this species.

The oldest record in our data set is from Pen-ffordd-goch Pond (Keeper’s Pond) on the Blorenge, on an unspecified date in 1961 (observer D. Griffiths).

Current distribution in the county: what we know

There are many post-2019 records from parts of the Gwent Levels, Newport, Torfaen, the western valleys and the northwest uplands, the Usk Valley, areas around Abergavenny and Monmouth, and the Wye valley south to Chepstow.

Current distribution in the county: what we don’t know

There are large gaps in the mapped distribution, however. As with many species, there are large areas in the north and east of the county with no records at all, or with only older records. This is almost certainly because no-one has visited sites in these areas recently to record dragonflies, rather than because the species is not present: there is much suitable habitat there.

The pattern of records from the Gwent Levels, where recent records come from only a few sites, compared with a much wider distribution prior to 2020, indicates an apparent decline. Further recording is needed here to establish if this is real, or simply down to under-recording, although the latter explanation seems implausible as this is a conspicuous damselfly, which is on the wing at the same seasons as other species which are still widely present.

Distribution elsewhere

Large Red Damselfly is a common and widespread damselfly throughout Wales, England and Scotland occurring north to the Shetlands. Elsewhere in Europe, it is found from Ireland and Portugal east to Russia, north to Scandinavia and Finland, and south to Italy and Greece; it is also found in parts of North Africa and Turkey.