Species from the European continent are growing rapidly and endemic species are declining.

[7 Settembre 2021]

The Relationship The British Dragonfly Society (BDS) has just published “Dragonfly State 2021 in the UK and Ireland” showing that it is “preventing the extinction of Dragonfly species in Great Britain and Ireland”.

Of course, there have been far more gains than the loss of dragonfly species in the United Kingdom and Ireland: BDS points out that since 1970, the number of permanent residents and migrants has dropped by only 11%, although this may seem like good news for dragonflies. So most people would benefit from an average temperature rise.

The State of Dragonflies 2021 report covers the 50-year period from 1970 to 2019, and is based on civic science: more than 1.4 million Dragonfly data from 17,000 researchers, including damsal data, and contributions from Ireland’s Center for Environmental Data and Recording. Prior to testing and verifying a network of more than 50 county Dragonfly recorders, servers collect almost all Dragonfly data manually. The verified data from the BDS recording scheme were analyzed by the UK Center for Ecology & Hydrology, and this report is based on the trends in the Dragonfly and Damsal populations derived from the research.

Empress Dragonfly (Annex Importer) – It is also the largest Italian dragonfly. Showed the largest increase. This species, which was mainly found in England and South Wales until the 1990s, spread rapidly across the Irish Sea to Ireland in 2000. It spread to northern England and Wales and reached Scotland in 2003. Aishna Mixta Fresiasura Puntanera (Orthotram Cancellation) Showed similar increases and slightly smaller range extensions.

In all, 19 of our 46 resident dragonfly and damsel species increased in the UK and Ireland, while only 5 declined. In addition, since 1995 we have acquired 8 new species and another reappeared after a long absence in our data. Some of these species have been colonized in Britain and Ireland, for example, the little red-eyed lilac damsel (Erythroma virulence), Bride Chalcolestus viridis And Southern Migrant Hawker Dragonfly (Aishna Affinis) Spread more rapidly in recent years.

They told BDS, “This increase in the migration and colonization of more southern distribution species in Europe clearly shows how our climate is changing to an unprecedented and more normal climate on the continent in modern times.

Among the species living in Great Britain and Ireland, Verdina borealis (Lastus bride), Emerald Damselfly, Black Cardinal (Symptom Dane) And the Alpine Dragon (Aishna Junsia) Showed the greatest decline, however all three of these items can still be found in good numbers on suitable sites. Although climate change, extreme weather events, and changes in land management are often difficult to distinguish from each other, the report highlights that some of the breakdowns are caused by habitat changes. Interestingly, two of these are mainly distributed in mountainous or northern areas, which means that habitat changes in these areas have the worst effects.