This globally threatened species (4) is found in Western Europe and Northwest Africa, and is mainly centred on the western Mediterranean. In Great Britain it reaches the north-western extreme of its range (3), and is largely restricted to the south west with two strongholds in the New Forest and Pembrokeshire. It is also found in Devon, Dorset, Mid-Glamorgan, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, the Gower Peninsula, and Anglesey (4).
![]() | You can view distribution information for this species at the National Biodiversity Network Gateway. |
![]() | View a distribution map for this species at UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre. |
The southern damselfly breeds mainly in heathland streams as well as chalk streams and calcareous mires (4).