Invertebrate Notes July 2023

A selection of notable records reported to Tanyptera. Includes older, but newly recognised regional vice county records (dates blue). ‘The region’ = VC58, 58, 60 + Cheshire, Lancs, Merseyside, Greater Manchester.

Acari (Mites)

Araneae (Spiders)

Chilopoda (Centipedes)

Coleoptera (Beetles)

Hadroplontus trimaculatus (Curculionidae), Northwich, VC58, 16/7, C. Washington

• First record for VC58 and Cheshire. Widely scattered in Southern England according to NBN Atlas.
• Feeds on Thistles – mostly Musk Thistle in the UK according to the UKBeetles website.
• May be swept from the host plants.

Musk Beetle Aromia moschata (Cerambycidae), Freshfield Dune Heath, VC59, July, A. Hampson.

• Well known from the Sefton Coast but only one recent record (2021). There are several older records. Elsewhere in the region, known from Fleetwood and the former Chat Moss area of Greater Manchester.
• A very large, distinctive longhorn beetle.
• Associated with wetlands and margins habitats where it’s larvae feed on Willow. They bore through the bark and into the sapwood.

Ontholestes murinus (Staphylinidae), Ribble Estuary NNR, VC59, 27/7, C. Washington.

• No iRecord / NBN Atlas records for VC59 or the region but there are a couple of older VC59 records according to Don Stenhouse.
• A distinctive rove beetle that feeds on carrion and larvae in dung.

Brundinia marina (Staphylinidae), Ribble Estuary NNR, VC59, 27/7, C. Washington.

• Recorded by Don Stenhouse at Southport in 2020, and previously recorded on the Ribble Estuary in 2011, and also the Sefton Coast in 1989 according to NBN Atlas.
• Local nationally and associated with coastal saltmarsh.

Collembola (Springtails)

Diplopoda (Millipedes)

Diptera (Flies)

Mallota cimbiciformis (Syrphidae)

Ainsdale NNR, VC59, 02/7, P. kinsella

Freshfield Dune Heath, VC59, 02/07, P. Kinsella

• 1st records for Merseyside and the Sefton Coast.
• Associated with the water-filled rot holes of mature trees, where the rat-tailed larvae develop.
• Widespread but very local across the UK.

Pipiza lugubris (Syrphidae), Freshfield Dune Heath, VC59, 19/07, P. Kinsella

• 1st records for Merseyside and the Sefton Coast.
• Nationally Scarce according to Ball & Morris (2014, JNCC Species Status No. 9).
• Found in hedgerows and woods. The larvae feed on Schizoneura aphids which curl the leaves of Elm.

Mintho rufiventris (Tachinidae), Formby Point, VC59, 22/10/2022, P. Smith, Det. C. Raper.

• Recently re-determined. New to VC59 and appears to be the 2nd regional record
• The larvae parasitise moth caterpillars, mainly of Pyralidae.
• Found in various habitats from May to October

Phasia obesa (Tachinidae)

Ravenmoels LNR, Formby, VC59, 7/7, P. Kinsella

Freshfield Dune Heath LNR, VC59, 19/7, P. Kinsella

• Several records previously at sites well inland in NW, but these appear to be first records for the Sefton Coast.
• Widespread in England
• A parasite of Heteropteran bugs.

Ceratitis capitata (Tephritidae), Galgate near Lancaster, VC60, 01/06/2023, R. Zloch

• Two adults found in a kitchen. First record for VC60. Just 10 NBN Atlas and 10 iRecord records (not all the same). Recorded historically by Harry Britten in Manchester on two occasions.
• A non-native but considered one of the most destructive fruit pests in the Western Hemisphere. However, considered a low risk to the UK.
• The basal half of the wing has a distinctive ‘circuit board-like’ pattern unlike any British species.

Hemiptera (True Bugs)

Anoscopus limicola (Cicadellidae), Ribble Estuary NNR, Formby, VC59, 27/7, K. Fowler

• First VC59 record this century.
• Associated with Saltmarshes but may be only a variant of A. albifrons.

Macrosteles horvathi (Cicadellidae), Ribble Estuary NNR, Formby, VC59, 27/7, K. Fowler

• First VC59 record this century. Historically recorded from the Sefton Coast.
• Locally common in marshy areas and wet grasslands.

Hymenoptera (Bees, Wasps & Ants)

Brachymeria tibialis (Chalcididae), Ravenmeols LNR, Formby, VC59, 4/7, P. Kinsella

• Appears to be the first record for VC59.
• New to Britain in 2008. First recorded in the NW region in 2021 when it was found at Ashton’s Flash, Northwich, and New Ferry Butterfly Park, Wirral, within a week.
• Parasitic on the Burnet moth family and some other moths.

Bees

Wasps

Sawflies

Odonata (Dragonflies and Damselflies)

Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)

Essex Skipper Thymelicus lineola (Hesperiidae), Elton Reservoir, VC59, 9/7, D. Bentley – ***Unconfirmed***

• ***Unconfirmed***
• Possibly only 2nd VC59 record, having been recorded on the Sefton Coast in 2017.
• Expanded in distribution enormously across the UK over the past few decades. Now widespread in Cheshire.
• Caterpillars feed on various grasses in dry situations where the vegetation is allowed to grow tall.

Scarlet Tiger Moth Callimorpha dominula (Erebidae), Ravenmeols LNR, Formby, VC59, 4/7, P. Kinsella

• Appears to be the first record for the Sefton Coast. Part of a small influx of records in VC59 during 2023.
• The species has been spreading North from South-west England.
• The caterpillars feed on a range of plants, for a preference for Comfrey.

Orthoptera (Grasshoppers and Crickets)

iRecord top 10 species

References