Species

Species	Southern damselfly - Coenagrio mercuriale, damselfly
Habitat	LOWLAND HEATHLAND
Background and status	Typically, southern damselfies are approximately 29mm in length, with a wingspan of 35mm. They are predominantly blue and black, with light-blue eyes and a distinctive Mercury sign located on the second segment of the abdomen. Females are generally much darker with their abdominal sides varying from olive to blue in colour. They require shallow, slow-moving alkaline water that forms narrow streams on shallow banks with plenty of sunlight and short, heathy vegetation. These are often found near the source of mire systems on heathlands. During the breeding season the female directly inserts her eggs into aquatic plants such as st.john’s wort, black bog rush and fool’s water cress. Once emerged the larvae will take up to two years to reach maturity. The southern damselfly is a globally-threatened species confined to Europe and North Africa with a very restricted distribution. The UK population has suffered a 30% decline in its distribution since 1960.
Main Threats	Inappropriate management or absence of management leads to sites becoming overgrown. Drainage and dredging of breeding sites
Conservation and targets	Maintain current range of species Nationally, re-introduce species to five sites by 2005

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