List of Odonata Species of Great Britain - Rejected Species, Species of Uncertain Provenance, Predictions and Channel Islands Species

Rejected Species, Species of Uncertain Provenance, Predictions and Channel Islands Species

1. The following species have been claimed but not accepted by the Odonata Records Committee:

• Two-spotted Dragonfly Epitheca bimaculata was reported from Leicestershire in 2002 – see Parr (2003).

2. The following species have been recorded, and their identification accepted, but the circumstances surrounding the records and/or specimens cast doubt on their natural occurrence, and they are not included in the official British list:

• Blue Dasher Pachydiplax longipennis, which was found dead on the Sedco 706 oil rig in the North Sea off the Shetland Isles in early September 1999 (Parr 2000b ). It was not accepted as the species is not a strong migrant and the rig receives weekly supplies from Texas.

• Southern Darter Sympetrum meridionale, only known from old specimens with vague data (but recorded from the Channel Islands).

• Alpine Emerald Somatochlora alpestris, only known from a single specimen labelled as having been collected by K. J. Morton in Inverness in 1926; however Morton was travelling in continental Europe on the date in question.

3. The following is a list of species which have previously been predicted to occur in Britain but have not yet been recorded (see Merritt, Moore & Eversham 1996 pp. 113–114 and Parr 1998, 1999 ): Subarctic Hawker Aeshna subarctica, Northern White-faced Darter Leucorrhina rubicunda, Common Winter Damselfly Sympecma fusca and Small Emerald Damselfly Lestes virens.

4. In addition to the species listed above, Common Winter Damselfly Sympecma fusca, Southern Skimmer Orthetrum brunneum and Southern Darter Sympetrum meridionale have been recorded in the Channel Islands (Parr 2000a).