Hydroporus glabriusculus
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: | Hydroporus glabriusculus |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Aubé, 1838 |
| 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: | There are post-1980 records of this species from only 10 hectads in England, all in East Anglia. It also occurs in a small number of mires in the Scottish Borders but has disappeared from its only known northern English site at Askham Bog. There is no clear evidence regarding recent population trends in East Anglia. It is confined to relict sites and believed to be extremely sedentary, so loss of any population would increase national extinction risk. Measures should seek to safeguard existing population centres as expansion to new sites is unlikely. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | H. glabriusculus warrants species-specific measures because of its highly restricted distribution and apparently ultra-relict status. Work 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. |
| 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 far to rare and sedentary to benefit from generic wider countryside measures. |
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: | Hydroporus glabriusculus belongs to a suite of water beetles apparently dependent on relict fens. Others include Agabus striolatus, Dryops anglicanus, D. auriculatus, D. griseus, Helochares obscurus, Hydraena palustris, Hydrochus brevis, H. ignicollis, H. megaphallus, Hydroporus elongatulus, H. scalesianus, Laccornis oblongus & Limnebius aluta (Agabus labiatus and A. undulatus may also be relevant). These insects occur mostly on protected sites but their needs may not be recognised or given due priority in, for example, designation documents, water level management plans and habitat management plans. It is recommended that a 'grouped action plan' approach is taken for these species. 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: Records have been mapped in Atlas 1 (Foster et al, 2016).
Comments: Relevant to all sites in inventory.
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. Hydroporus glabriusculus belongs to a suite of water beetles closely associated with remnant fens; others include Agabus striolatus, Dryops anglicanus, D. auriculatus, D. griseus, Helochares obscurus, Hydrochus brevis, H. ignicollis, H. megaphallus, Hydroporus elongatulus, 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.