Northern February Red (Brachyptera putata)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - stonefly (Plecoptera) > Stonefly |
| 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: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Brachyptera putata |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Newman, 1838) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Macadam, 2015 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | This endemic species is no longer found in England, the last record was from the River Wye near Hereford in 1992. It may however still occur in the River Wye but this would need to be investigated with surveys at the correct time of year. The species is still commonly found in Highland Scotland so could be reintroduced to the Wye if no extant populations are confirmed. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | A thorough survey of the River Wye is required to determine this species status in England. If it is confirmed to be extinct then a conservation breeding and reintroduction programme would be required. |
| 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 the return of natural processes to River Wye. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Combination or other (detail in comments) |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Combination - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Recovery potential is low while water quality in the River Wye remains poor. This species could benefit from actions to improve water quality and habitat quality in the River Wye. Conservation translocations recovery could be high but currently not possible due to water quality issues. Targeted sampling is required in winter. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: A thorough survey of the River Wye is required in winter 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 no longer present in the River Wye, 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 River Wye and other sites 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.