Northern emerald

For the Australian moth species with this common name, see Prasinocyma rhodocosma.

Northern emerald
Female (Germany)
Male (Netherlands)
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Odonata
Infraorder:	Anisoptera
Family:	Corduliidae
Genus:	Somatochlora
Species:	S. arctica
Binomial name
Somatochlora arctica (Zetterstedt, 1840)
Synonyms [1]
Aeshna arctica Zetterstedt, 1840 Cordulia subalpina Selys, 1840

The northern emerald (Somatochlora arctica) is a species of dragonfly found in the northern Palearctic realm, particularly in Europe. It was first scientifically described by Johan Wilhelm Zetterstedt in 1840 in the genus Aeshna . The dragonfly is assessed as least-concern globally on the IUCN Red List, but is threatened in Central Asia and parts of Europe.

Distribution and conservation

Northern emeralds are found throughout the northern Palearctic realm, holding a scattered distribution from Ireland to Japan between approximately the 40th and 74th parallels. The IUCN Red List describes a scattered distribution in Europe, broadly centred on a diamond cornered by Switzerland, the Netherlands, Slovakia, and the northern Scandinavian Peninsula. Its distribution in the south is especially patchy due to the mountains. ^[1] It is common in Scandinavia and Finland but rarer in continental (non-Nordic) countries. It is rare in western Europe but common in upland areas of central Europe. ^[2] Its distribution outside of Europe is even sparser, with patchy observations throughout Russia, as well as in northern Japan, North Korea, and southern Kazakhstan. ^[1]

In Central Asia, northern emeralds are naturally scarce, found only in vulnerable, isolated populations. The IUCN has warned that climate change could decimate these small amounts of available habitat for the dragonflies in Central Asia and thus significantly endanger them there. The dragonflies are already endangered in several European countries: they are assessed as vulnerable in Austria and Poland and critically endangered in Germany and Denmark. However, at the global level, the IUCN considers the species as of least concern due to the breadth and diversity of its range and its commonality; in much of its Eurasian range, it is not endangered. ^[1]

In Great Britain, the species is considered near-threatened, and restricted to the Scottish Highlands north of the Firth of Clyde and west of the Cairngorms. ^[3] The dragonflies are endangered in Ireland, ^[3] where they are only found in counties Kerry and Cork, inhabiting "moorland pools and bogs". ^[4] A 1900 book by William John Lucas describes a roughly similar distribution. According to Steve Brooks and Steve Cham in their 2014 edition of the Field Guide to the Dragonflies and Damselflies of Great Britain and Ireland, the species' range of occurrence in Scotland has doubled since 1982, but due likely to more extensive recording fieldwork – the dragonfly is nonetheless threatened by habitat loss and "undoubtedly is still under-recorded". ^[5]

The main threat to the northern emerald is loss of habitat through various means. The drainage of peat bogs for human agriculture, infrastructure, or for "industrial peat extraction", all threaten the dragonflies, ^[1] as does afforestation. ^[3] Climate change is likely to exacerbate habitat losses. ^[1]

Habitat

The northern emerald's preferred habitat varies across its range. In central Europe, it is restricted to alpine areas and moorlands; a related species, the alpine emerald, inhabits higher altitudes. ^[2]

References

1. Boudot, J.-P. (2020). "Northern Emerald". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020 e.T165490A140528834. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T165490A140528834.en . Retrieved 1 Dec 2025.
2. Askew, R. R. (2021). The Dragonflies of Europe. Brill. pp. 150–1. ISBN   978-90-04-47438-3.
3. Northern Emerald: Somatochlora arctica (PDF). BDS Species and Habitat Management Sheet #2. British Dragonfly Society & Scottish Natural Heritage. 2019.
4. "Odonata (Dragonflies & Damselflies)" (PDF). Scottish Invertebrate Species Knowledge Dossier. Buglife – The Invertebrate Conservation Trust.
5. Brooks, Steve; Cham, Steve (2014). Field Guide to the Dragonflies and Damselflies of Great Britain and Ireland. Illustrated by Richard Lewington (5th ed.). Bloomsbury. pp. 154–5. ISBN   978-1-4729-6453-3.