Paragus tibialis

[stuart]

Paragus tibialis (Fallén, 1817)

Identification ease/difficulty: 4

Status

• Notable in Falk (1991)

Sources of information

• Page 127 in Stubbs & Falk (1983)
• Map here and page 102 in Ball & Morris (2000)
• Page 187 in Stubbs & Falk (2002)

[stuart]

Species account from Provisional atlas of British hoverflies, Ball & Morris, 2000.

Paragus tibialis (Fallén, 1817)

Biology: The larvae feed on a range of ground layer and arboreal aphids. In Britain, adults appear to be restricted to dry heathland, where they behave in a very similar way to P. haemorrhous, the two species sometimes occurring together. A very similar species, P. constrictus, has recently been recognised from limestone pavement in the Burren, Ireland (mentioned under P. tibialis in Stubbs & Falk, 1983), and any specimens from limestone pavement in north-west England should be checked for this species

Distribution: A rare species of dry heathland in southern Britain, which may be overlooked amongst the much commoner P. haemorrhous. Before the revision by Speight (1978), the only species recognised in this genus in Britain were P. albifrons and P. tibialis, but earlier specimens which have been checked have mostly proved to be P. haemorrhous. Consequently, all pre-1978 records must be considered suspect unless specimens are available and have been re-examined

[stuart]

Datasheet from the Review of Scarce and Threatened Diptera, Falk (1991).

PARAGUS TIBIALIS (Fallen) NOTABLE

DISTRIBUTION Scattered records in England and South Wales extending as far north as Durham but with a strong southerly bias.

HABITAT Heathland, though associated with sand dunes in Denmark and limestone pavement in Ireland.

ECOLOGY Larvae aphidophagous though details unknown. Adults recorded from June to October and visit flowers such as tormentil Potentilla erecta and bedstraws.

STATUS A poorly known species only separable from the very similar C. haemorrhous in the male, and only recognised as British in recent years. It is likely to be under recorded to some extent.

THREAT Clearance of heathland for agriculture or intensive forestry and mis-management of heath with resultant scrub or bracken invasion and a loss of vegetation diversity.

MANAGEMENT Maintain a mosaic of heathland vegetation types, including areas of sparse vegetation, using traditional heath management. The presence of bare or sparsely vegetated paths and tracks is likely to be crucial, also bare ground within heathland vegetation such as heathers.