Dryops auriculatus
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - beetle (Coleoptera) > Water beetle |
| Red List Status: | Near Threatened (Not Relevant) [NT(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Dryops auriculatus |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Geoffroy in Fourcroy, 1785) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Foster, 2010 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Dryops auriculatus has been recorded in 23 hectads since 1980, with a much wider spread of records than for some of the rare Dryops. Not all old records will be reliable, so evidence of decline is difficult to evaluate though loss of heathland in the London area has resulted in gaps in its former distribution. It is certainly a lower priority for intervention than D. anglicanus and D. griseus. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Action is needed to improve and promote better understanding of the species' conservation requirements, including on protected sites. This could be done through an assemblage approach (see Species Comments & Action 2). |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | This species is too scarce to benefit from generic measures. Generic guidance on pond management/restoration may not be appropriate where this and other species of richly-vegetated seasonal pools are present. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 4. Autecology and pressures understood |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Unknown |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | There will be few sites where D. auriculatus is the only rare water beetle and it shares requirements in common with other TSRA species associated with seasonal pools on heaths, fens and commons e.g. Agabus labiatus and the snail Omphiscola glabra. However, it will be an important species to highlight in more outlying locations such as Strensall and Skipwith Commons. Ad hoc recording as part of GB water beetle recording scheme (Balfour-Browne Club/Aquatic Coleoptera Conservation Trust). |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Make an inventory of all protected sites with post-1980 records. Consider opportunities for listing this species as a site 'feature' (e.g. review of SSSI citations).
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Site protection
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Undertake a review of this species and other water beetles dependent on relict-fens in order to promote better understanding of their conservation requirements. D. auriculatus belongs to a suite of water beetles closely associated with remnant fens; others include Agabus striolatus, Dryops anglicanus, D. griseus, Helochares obscurus, Hydrochus brevis, H. ignicollis, H. megaphallus, Hydroporus elongatulus, H. glabriusculus, H. scalesianus, Laccornis oblongus and Limnebius aluta.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Advise site managers on the presence and requirements of this species in consideration of SSSI, nature reserve management, and other land management, especially pond restoration and water level control.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Advice & support
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments:
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.