Eubria palustris
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: | Eubria palustris |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Germar, 1818) |
| 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: | Eubria palustris has a wide range from County Durham to the south coast. It is, however, a habitat specialist of exposed, groundwater-fed seepages so it's inherently vulnerable to climate change, aquifer depletion and land drainage. Set against this, it is probably under-recorded and may be less vulnerable in the limestone uplands. There are records from around 18 English hectads since 1980 but there have been apparent losses from coastal sites and some Oxfordshire sites are vulnerable to urban development pressures. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Eubria palustris is likely to benefit from generic measures to conserve calcareous seepages and soft-rock cliffs, and has similar ecological requirements to other TSRA species e.g. Vertigo snails. However, its relatively wide distribution makes it vulnerable to multiple pressures including over-stabilisation of coastal soft-rock cliffs, encroachment of tall vegetation, woodland planting and hydrological disruption of spring/seepage systems. The initial recommendation is to re-survey known and potential sites, and to ensure that site managers are mindful of this species' requirements. |
| 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: | Eubria is a habitat specialist. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 5. Remedial action identified |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Unknown |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | 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: Update survey of known and potential sites (high quality calcareous seepage systems and soft-rock cliffs). Identify management requirements at confirmed sites.
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: Unknown
High priority sites: Records have been mapped in Atlas 3 (Foster et al, 2020)
Comments: Eubria palustris is most easily detected as a larva by examining the undersides of stones in constantly trickling water.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Based on updated surveys, compile an inventory of all protected sites with post-1980 records. Consider this species and its requirements in SSSI and nature reserve management plans, water level management plans etc, and consider opportunities for listing this species as a site 'feature' (e.g. review of SSSI citations).
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Pressure mitigation
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.