The Association for the Defense and Study of Native Fauna and Flora (ADEFFA) was a beneficiary of our 2017 call for grants for the development of the project “Conservation of Galemys pyrenaicus and Macromia splendens“. Macromia splendens is a dragonfly, included in the Red Book of Spanish Invertebrates, according to IUCN criteria “critically endangered”. The Iberian Desman (Galemys pyrenaicus ) is an aquatic mammal, included in the Spanish Catalogue of Threatened Species in the category “Endangered”. The populations of Macromia splendens and Galemys pyrenaicus are in clear recession and present a problem of population fractionation at the national level. The Strategy for the conservation of the Iberian Desman (Galemys pyrenaicus) in Spain includes the study of ex situ biology and captive breeding. They are species with a very unknown biology, ADEFFA with this project sought to increase the knowledge of the biology and ex situ maintenance of both species to contribute to their conservation in Spain.

During the development of the project, the maintenance of 5 larvae of Macromia splendens and the emergence or metamorphosis of 3 adults has been achieved; It has also been achieved for the first time in history the maintenance of two individuals, a couple, of Desman for more than a year. Greatly increasing the knowledge of the biology of the two species, with aspects that were not known because they are very difficult species to study in their natural habitats.