APPENDIX A
ESSEX SPECIES NOT RECORDED SINCE 1903
A number of species were recorded from Essex prior to W. H. Harwood's county list in
the Victoria County History (Harwood. 1903). but have not been recorded since that
time. In some cases these are undoubted instances of local extinction, whereas in other
cases the veracity of the original record is open to doubt. In view of the great
unlikelihood of the appearance of any of these species in our county today, it seems
advisable to refer both categories of species to this appendix.
Ceriagrion tenellum (de Villers. 1789) Small Red Damselfly
This small, delicate damselfly inhabits sphagnum bogs and wet heathland. This is a
type of habitat increasingly under threat, but C. tenellum is often locally abundant where
its habitat remains in south-central and south-west England and Wales. There is
evidence of a contraction of range, with loss of most or all of its few scattered former East
Anglian sites. Edward Doubleday (1835) mentioned this species (under the name Agrion
rubellum) as occurring 'in profusion' in the vicinity of Ongar Park Woods, near Epping.
The species also appeared on Henry Doubleday's later (1871) list as Pyrrhosoma
tenellum, but as 'very common formerly'. The site given was among the rushes on
Coopersale Common. Doubleday himself found it surprising that this southern species
should occur in England . Later lists (Lucas. 1900b: Harwood. 1903: Longfield. 1949b)
all referred back to Henry Doubleday's list, but gave no further records. It seems
unlikely that suitable habitat for the species has persisted in Essex into this century,
and, indeed, to judge from Doubleday's use of the word 'formerly', the species may well
have been extinct in the county by the time of his list.
Coenagrion mercuriale (Charpentier. 1840) Southern Damselfly
According to W. Harcourt Bath (1892). this species was at that time known at only one
other locality outside the New Forest in this country. This locality was claimed to be
Epping Forest where the species had been taken by Mr. W. H. Nunney. I can find no
other reference to this record, and it is not repeated in later lists. This species has always
had an extremely restricted range in south-central, south-west England and south-west
Wales. Moreover, recent work on the ecology of the species (see. for example Merritt.
1983: Mayo and Welstead. 1983: Winsland, 1985: and Coker and Fox. 1985) make it seem
most unlikely that C. mercuriale ever occurred naturally in Essex.
Ischnura pumilio (Carpentier, 1825) Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly
This species is similar in appearance to its abundant relative. Ischnura elegans, but is
another very localised southerly and south-western species. It is described as occurring
in peaty runnels and bog seepages. Even where it occurs, it is somewhat elusive, as it is
subject to wide annual fluctuations in numbers, and populations also shift between
adjacent sites. Henry Doubleday (1871) gave it as 'rare', being occasionally found
among the old gravel pits in the Epping district. Both Lucas (1900b) and Harwood
(1903) reported Doubleday's record without comment, whilst Longfield (1949b) stated
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