Dragonflies and damselflies are excellent indicators of wetland health and their conservation protects habitats supporting a wide range of species welfare.
The welfare status of dragonfly larvae is uncertain given their invertebrate nervous system, but the conservation of dragonfly populations protects the wetland habitats that support species whose welfare is more clearly established. Fish that rely on the same clean watercourses benefit directly from the water quality that supports dragonfly larvae. Amphibians that breed in the same ponds benefit from habitat management for dragonflies. Wetland birds that hunt dragonflies and their larvae have improved food availability when dragonfly populations are healthy. The welfare co-benefits of dragonfly habitat conservation are therefore significant even if individual dragonfly welfare is uncertain.