Heptagenia longicauda
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - mayfly (Ephemeroptera) > Mayfly |
| Red List Status: | Regionally Extinct (GB scale) (Not Relevant) [RE(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: | Heptagenia longicauda |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Stephens, 1836) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Macadam, 2016 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | This species is regionally extinct in Britain, with the last record being made from the River Wey (Surrey) in 1933. Other confirmed records are from near Hertford, the Kennet and Holybrook Canal, Reading, and the River Thames at Staines. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | To return the species to the wild will require a conservation breeding and reintroduction programme. |
| 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 in watercourses in the counties around London. In addition, action to tackle light pollution is required as this species is attracted away from the river by lights. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 2. Biological status assessment exists |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Combination - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Conservation translocation recovery is high but currently untested. Targeted sampling is required in watercourse in the counties around London. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: A thorough survey of suitable watercourses in the counties around London is required to determine this species status in England.
Action targets: 2. Biological status assessment exists
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: Not applicable
High priority sites: N/A
Comments: Necessary step to inform future translocation
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: If Action 1 finds that the species is extinct in England, investigate the feasibility of conservation translocations for this species.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Ex situ conservation
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: Not applicable
High priority sites: N/A
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Translocation of captive bred population to watercourses identified in Action 2
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: (Re-)introduction
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: To be determined by Action 1
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.