There are 57 recorded species of Odonata in Britain, made up of 21 damselflies (suborder Zygoptera) and 36 dragonflies (suborder Anisoptera). Of these, 42 species (17 damselflies and 25 dragonflies) are resident breeders, and the remainder are either extinct species, or vagrants - in respect of the latter, this list follows the decisions of the Odonata Records Committee. Some of these rare species have not been seen since the 19th Century; however, the British Odonata list is also currently undergoing a period of unprecedented change, as new species are being discovered for the first time, some going on to become breeding species. This list is based on the following principal references: A number of other references were used to provide information on specific topics, including rare vagrants, post-1990 additions, predictions, species claimed but not accepted/species of uncertain provenance, non-natives, taxonomic matters and species found only in the Channel Islands. Ireland's Odonata fauna is quite different from that of Britain, with many fewer breeding species, but one additional species not found in Britain, Irish Damselfly Coenagrion lunulatum – see List of Odonata species of Ireland for more information.

New species since 1990

After a period in which the British Odonata list has been relatively static, since 1990, many new species have been found and some have gone on to become regular breeding species. In chronological order of their first record, these new species are: Many British Odonata enthusiasts expect further species to be added to the list in the near future. The list below is up to date breeding season.

Extinct species and casual breeders

While most species on the list below are either extant established breeding species or rare vagrants, some do not fall into these two categories. The following species bred in the past but are now extinct: The following species are sporadic or casual breeders:

Non-native introductions

Records of non-native Odonata species in Britain have been confined to individuals found within heated greenhouses associated with nurseries for aquatic plants. None of these species have been recorded in wild situations or gone on to establish populations in the wild. Details of species which have occurred in such circumstances can be found in Agassiz 1981, Brooks 1988, and Parr 2000a.

The list

The list is in taxonomic order. The English name of each species is given, followed by its scientific name, details of the range countries for each breeding species, and an overall status code for species which are not long-established extant breeding species. The following abbreviations are used to give country-by-country distribution information for the breeding species: The following codes are used to give status details for those species which are not long-established extant breeding species:

Suborder Zygoptera (damselflies)

Family Calopterygidae (demoiselles)

Family Lestidae (emerald damselflies)

Family Coenagrionidae (blue, blue-tailed, and red damselflies)

Family Platycnemididae (white-legged damselflies)

Suborder Anisoptera (dragonflies)

Family Gomphidae (club-tailed dragonflies)

Family Aeshnidae (hawkers and emperors)

Family Cordulegastridae (golden-ringed dragonflies)

Family Corduliidae (emerald dragonflies)

Family Libellulidae (chasers, skimmers, and darters)

Rejected species, species of uncertain provenance, predictions and Channel Islands species

1. The following species have been claimed but not accepted by the Odonata Records Committee:
2. The following species have been recorded, and their identification accepted, but the circumstances surrounding the records and/or specimens cast doubt on their natural occurrence, and they are not included in the official British list:
3. The following is a list of species which have previously been predicted to occur in Britain but have not yet been recorded (see Merritt, Moore & Eversham 1996 pp. 113–114 and Parr 1998, 1999 ): subarctic darner (Aeshna subarctica), northern white-faced darter (Leucorrhina rubicunda) and small emerald damselfly (Lestes virens).
4. In addition to the species listed above, southern skimmer (Orthetrum brunneum) and southern darter (Sympetrum meridionale) have been recorded in the Channel Islands (Parr 2000a).