Southern Damselflies Steering Group

The Steering Group, formed in 2025, includes the BDS, Natural England, Environment Agency, Wildlife Trust, and experienced volunteers.

Southern Damselfly (Coenagrion mercuriale) is endangered in Britain due to a range of threats, including climate change, water pollution, and habitat destruction.

The species is primarily associated with base-rich heathland streams and marshland channels, as well as chalk streams and their water meadows. Breeding sites are often home to other rare threatened species and, therefore, protecting the Southern Damselfly often benefits other wildlife.

The group’s goals are to:

• Increase the availability and connectivity of suitable breeding habitats.
• Stabilise and/or expand existing populations.
• Enable natural range expansion and support long-term species resilience to threats like climate change.

This will be achieved by:

• Volunteer and professional-led surveying and monitoring of breeding populations and their habitat.
• Creation of new resources to guide species-targeted conservation and monitoring.
• Practical conservation to restore and enhance breeding sites.
• Outreach to increase awareness and share knowledge regarding species conservation.