Haliplus variegatus
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - beetle (Coleoptera) > Water beetle |
| Red List Status: | Vulnerable (Not Relevant) [VU(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: | Haliplus variegatus |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Sturm, 1834 |
| 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: | Haliplus variegatus is a relatively distinctive species which has greatly declined in range, having disappeared from much of England. Its habitat of clean, calcareous drains or ponds with stoneworts is inherently sensitive to eutrophication, drainage and changes in management. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | H. variegatus belongs to a suite of threatened species with similar requirements, including several stoneworts. It is likely to benefit from generic measures which protect water quality and supply in coastal and floodplain grazing marsh and lowland fen priority habitats. However, resurvey of known/former sites would help target conservation management such as rotational removal of sediment and vegetation, buffer zones, measures to reduce P & N inputs. |
| 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 localised and specialised to benefit from untargeted habitat management. Haliplus variegatus would benefit only if measures are targeted on protecting/restoring water quality in coastal and floodplain grazing marsh and lowland fen habitats. |
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: Resurvey sites with post-1980 records where suitable habitat still exists in order to provide targeted, site-specific management recommendations.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Advice & support
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: Unknown
High priority sites: Records have been mapped in Atlas 1 (Foster et al, 2016).
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.