The key site project aims to develop an agreed set of national criteria that may be applied to determine key dragonfly and damselfly sites throughout Britain

* What are the nationally important species?

The British Dragonfly Society has recently reviewed the British Red Data list for dragonflies and damselflies. Species that are considered to be threatened enough to be in one of the IUCN threat categories are regarded as nationally important. In addition, Small Red Damselfly, Ceriagrion tenellum, though not considered to be under threat, is included as a nationally important species, as it is nationally scarce (occurring in less than 100 10-km squares).

The following species are regarded as nationally important.

EndangeredSouthern Damselfly, Coenagrion mercuriale
Northern Damselfly, Coenagrion hastulatum
Norfolk Hawker, Aeshna isosceles
White-faced Darter, Leucorrinhia dubia

VulnerableAzure Hawker, Aeshna caerulea
Brilliant Emerald, Somatochlora metallica

Near ThreatenedScarce Emerald Damselfly, Lestes dryas
Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly, Ischnura pumilio
Variable Damselfly, Coenagrion pulchellum
Northern Emerald, Somatochlora arctica
Scarce Chaser, Libellula fulva
Common Club-tail, Gomphus vulgatissimus

Nationally ScarceSmall Red Damselfly, Ceriagrion tenellum
Northern Damselfly

Northern Damselfly, Coenagrion hastulatum
A nationally important Scottish species

* What are the locally important species in your area?

Within the key site project the British Isles has been divided into 39 local areas. These areas, made up of one or more vice-counties, have been determined to relate to boundaries of local records centres or wildlife trusts. By dividing the country according to recording and conservation centres' boundaries it is hoped that this will allow the key site criteria to be more widely used. To find out which species are important, and what number of species is required for a diverse site in your local area, click on the appropriate area on the map. Information on how to get involved in recording dragonflies is also provided for each area.

Cornwall Isles_of_Scilly Devon Somerset Wiltshire Dorset Hampshire Isle of Wight Sussex Kent Surrey Essex Hertfordshire Greater London Thames Valley and Buckinghamshire Suffolk Norfolk Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Peterborough Gloucestershire South-east Wales Herefordshire Worcestershire Warwickshire, Birmingham and Black Country Staffordshire Shropshire Powys and Brecon Beacons West wales North wales Lincolnshire Leicestershire and Rutland Nottinghamshire Derbyshire Cheshire Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Lancashire Yorkshire North East Cumbria Isle of Man Scotland Outer Hebrides Orkney Shetland Ireland Channel Isles

* Adding or removing species determined as important in your area

The list of dragonfly and damselfly species within each area, aims to highlight which species are currently regarded as rare and important in your area, and so used to determine local key dragonfly sites. In drawing up this list advice from vice-county recorders, combined with analysis of the national dragonfly database (taking species occurring in less than 10% of tetrads within vice-counties as a guideline for local importance), have been used. However, with local knowledge and future dragonfly movements, this list may include or exclude species that you feel should be, or are no longer, important in your area. To keep the list up-to-date, or to correct or add links to dragonfly information in your area, please let Stephen Prentice, Dragonfly in Focus Officer know of any changes to these list of species or information, that you feel are required in your area.

How do you apply the criteria to your sites ?