Southern Iron Blue (Baetis niger)

Key Details

Taxonomic Groups: Invertebrate > insect - mayfly (Ephemeroptera) > Mayfly
Red List Status: Least Concern (Not Relevant) [LC(nr)]
D5 Status: Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022)
Section 41 Status: (not listed)
Taxa Included Synonym: Nigrobaetis niger
UKSI Recommended Name: Baetis niger
UKSI Recommended Authority: (Linnaeus, 1761)
UKSI Recommended Qualifier: (none specified)
Red List Citation: Macadam, 2016
Notes on taxonomy/listing: in s41 (incorrectly) as Iron Blue Mayfly

Criteria

Question 1: Does species need conservation or recovery in England?
Response: Yes
Justification: This is a widespread species that has suffered declines in recent years.
Question 2: Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions?
Response: No
Justification: The main threats to this species are river pollution and water abstraction.
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: Yes
Justification: This species would benefit from actions to improve water quality and habitat quality, and limit abstraction in watercourses where it occurs.

Species Assessment

Not relevant as no Key Actions defined.

Key Actions

No Key Actions Defined

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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.