Limnebius papposus
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: | Limnebius papposus |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Mulsant, 1844 |
| 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: | Limnebius papposus has not been considered a high priority for conservation but post-1980 records mask the severe decline of this species in the late 20th/early 21st century. It is now rare in the Fens and was not recorded from surveys of around 300 drains in Cambridgeshire, though it is still plentiful at Wicken. It has declined noticeably in the NE Midlands. This is a seriously and rapidly declining beetle. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Once widespread south of the Severn-Humber axis, the decline of L. papposus is stark but too recent to relate to historic land-use changes such as loss of peat. Research and monitoring is needed. |
| 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: | On paper, L. papposus might respond to sympathetic management of ditches but it is now highly localised. |
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: | 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: Review available data on the autecology and habitat requirements of L. papposus including gaps in knowledge. This is likely to require further fieldwork. The small size of this beetle may limit autecological investigations in the field. Recommendations for species recovery actions should form part of this review but may be tentative.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: Not applicable
High priority sites: Accessible sites include Wicken Fen.
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.