This report describes the results of a series of surveys on the Manchester mosslands covering heteroptera (shield bugs, plant bugs and allies), craneflies, hoverflies, and a number of other fly families. Sites covered are the Holcroft Moss reserve of Cheshire Wildlife Trust and the Astley, Cadishead and Little Woolden Moss reserves of Lancashire Wildlife Trust. A full list is given of the 615 species recorded and their distribution across the four sites. This species list is interpreted in terms of feeding guilds and habitat assemblages using the PANTHEON software developed by Natural England. This shows a strong representation in the sample of species associated with shaded woodland floor and tall sward and scrub. The national assemblage of peatland species is somewhat less well represented, but includes a higher proportion of rare or scarce species. A comparison is also made with PANTHEON results for similar surveys across a similar range of habitats in the Delamere Forest. This suggests that the invertebrate diversity value of the Manchester Mosses is rather less, perhaps as a result of their fragmented geography and proximity to past and present sources of transport and industrial pollution.

Ref. True Flies

Published September 2018