Extinct Species and Casual Breeders
While most species on the list below are either extant established breeding species or rare vagrants, some do not fall into these two categories. The following species bred in the past but are now extinct:
- Dainty Damselfly – only ever known from marshes along the Thames Estuary in Essex, first recorded in 1946, and last recorded in 1952. Rediscovered 2010.
- Norfolk Damselfly – only ever known from the Norfolk Broads between 1902 and 1957
- Orange-spotted Emerald – only ever known from two areas in southern England, one around the River Stour and Moors River in east Dorset, where the species was recorded from 1820 to 1963, and the other on the River Tamar in Devon where the species was recorded in 1946 only.
The following species are sporadic or casual breeders:
- Yellow-winged Darter – this species has a pattern of establishing small breeding colonies following influxes, but none of these have become permanently established
- Red-veined Darter – following influxes in previous years, this species, like Yellow-winged Darter, has formed temporary breeding colonies. However, since the mid-1990s, the number of these colonies has increased and many have continued to be present from year-to-year, so this species is now better regarded as a successful colonist.
Read more about this topic: List Of Odonata Species Of Great Britain
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