Distribution and habitat
A typical breeding site with hornworts close to the water surface.
Distribution
The small red-eyed damselfly is moving northwards with climate warming.
Historically, the small red-eyed damselfly was found in the mediterranean region of Europe, northwest Africa and eastwards to Turkestan.
Since the 1980s the species has travelled northwards to the Netherlands and northern Germany.
In 1999 the small red-eyed damselfly arrived in southeast England and has continued to spread north- and westwards. It is the first species of dragonfly to colonise in Britain since records began 300 years ago.
In many large, weed-rich lakes in southern and eastern England, the small red-eyed damselfly is now the most common species.
Habitat
The small red-eyed damselfly breeds in nutrient-rich ponds and lakes laden with submerged aquatic plants or floating mats of algae.