A selection of notable records reported to Tanyptera. Includes older, but newly recognized regional vice county records (dates blue). ‘The region’ = VC58, 59, 60 + Cheshire, Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester. All photos are copyright of the recorder unless stated otherwise.

Flies (Diptera)

Botanophila biciliaris (Anthomyiidae)

• Kindling Farm (VC59)
• 30/08/2025
• Recorded and determined by Phil Brighton
• First recorded in Britain in 1964. Associated with fluctuating wetland habitats and willow scrub. Found in numbers across four sample squares at Kindling Farm.

Stomorhina lunata – Locust Blowfly (Calliphoridae)

• 8 regional August records submitted to iRecord (3 in VC59 and 5 in VC60) following two July records.
• Formerly considered a rare vagrant, this blowfly has been increasing recorded since 2013, which parallels the general growth of digital photo recording with the surge in the lock-down year 2020. However, there were then so few records in 2021 – suggesting it is a matter of sporadic invasions each year rather than a more widely established population.

Rhaphium appendiculatum (Dolichopodidae) – 1st for VC59

• Kindling Farm, pond margin in Field 4 (VC59)
• 30/08/2025
• Recorded and determined by Phil Brighton
• A small predatory long-legged fly associated with humid grassland and wetland margins. Males are distinctive with a swollen arista tip, unique among British Rhaphium species.

Symphoromyia crassicornis (Rhagionidae) – 1st for VC60

• Higher Green Bank – SW meadow
• 15/06/2022
• Recorded and determined by Rob Zloch
• A robust snipefly with swollen antennae, found in damp soils under vegetation and moss. Larvae develop in moist substrates. Restricted to Northern and Western areas of Britain.

Oebalia cylindrica (Sarcophagidae) – 1st for VC60

• Aqueducts Nature Reserve
• 07/06/2019
• Recorded and determined by Rob Zloch
• A saproxylic flesh fly associated with the nests of solitary wasps, particularly Pemphredon and Rhopalum. The larvae develop within wasp nests, likely feeding on detritus or other larvae. Scattered records from southern and central England.

Paracraspedothrix montivaga (Tachinidae) – 1st for VC60

• Winmarleigh Moss
• 27/06/2018
• Recorded and determined by Rob Zloch
• First discovered in Britain in 2002. Its host remains unknown, but it is suspected to parasitise larvae in damp mossy habitats, possibly craneflies or soldierflies. Typically found in calcareous wetland microhabitats.

Carcelia lucorum (Tachinidae) – 1st for VC60

• Dalton Crags
• 28/06/2024
• Recorded and determined by Rob Zloch
• A parasitoid of tiger moth caterpillars (Arctiidae), especially Spilosoma spp.. Found in woodland edges, hedgerows, and brownfield sites. Fairly widespread in southern England but increasingly scarce further north.

Eumea linearicornis (Tachinidae) – 1st for VC60

• Artle Dale, above bridge )
• 26/06/2024
• Recorded and determined by Rob Zloch
• Larvae parasitise various micromoth larvae, including noctuids such as Orthosia cerasi, Orthosia populeti, and Cosmia pyralina. Adults are often seen on flowers and shrubs. Fairly frequent in southern England, the Midlands, and Wales.

Ceromya bicolor (Tachinidae) – 1st for VC60

• Bowland Fells, road by Tarnsyke Clough
• 17/07/2019
• Recorded and determined by Rob Zloch
• A parasitoid of several moth species including Sphinx pinastri, Eupithecia spp., Phragmatobia fuliginosa, and Lasiocampa quercus. Found in woodland and moorland habitats. Widespread but under-recorded.

Nemorilla floralis (Tachinidae) – 1st for VC60 (since a single 1962 record at Lytham St Annes)

• Morecambe garden
• 10/05/2019
• Recorded by Belinda Nixie, determined by Rob Zloch
• A parasitoid of micro-moths and butterflies including Anthophila fabriciana, Aglais io, and Polygonia c-album. Found in woodland, hedgerows, and scrub. Fairly frequent in southern Britain.

Beetles (Coleoptera)

Atomaria munda (Cryptophagidae)

• Kindling Farm (VC59)
• 30/08/2025
• Recorded and determined by Clive Washington
• A small silken fungus beetle found in leaf litter and decaying vegetation.

Dorcus parallelipipedus (Lucanidae) – Lesser Stag Beetle

• Wrenbury, Cheshire (VC58)
• 15/08/2025
• Recorded and determined by Chloe Aldridge
• A saproxylic beetle associated with decaying wood. At the limit of it’s range in NW England, where it’s known from few sites such as Dunham Massey Park.

Epauloecus unicolor (Ptinidae)

• Kindling Farm, barn with decaying grain (VC59)
• 30/08/2025
• Recorded and determined by Clive Washington
• Associated with stored products. Only 54 records on NBN Atlas. A cluster of records in Wales suggests that it’s probably under-recorded could be found by targeted searching.

Ptinus tectus (Ptinidae)

• Kindling Farm, barn with decaying grain (VC59)
• 30/08/2025
• Recorded and determined by Clive Washington
• Known as the “Australian Spider Beetle”, a pest of stored products. Very few English records although it is commoner in Wales, where presumably someone is looking for these species.

Edaphus lederi (Staphylinidae) – 1st for the North West

• Kindling Farm, woodchip heap (VC59)
• 30/08/2025
• Recorded and determined by Clive Washington
• A minute rove beetle associated with decaying organic matter. Added to the UK list recently and all other records have been in the South of the country.

Trox scaber (Trogidae)

• Lymm, Cheshire (VC58)
• 11/08/2025
• Recorded and determined by Josh Boe
• A cryptic beetle associated with dry carrion and bird nests. Comes to light. Uncommon in the NW but likely to be under-recorded. 6 VC58 records on NBN.

Bugs (Hemiptera)

Athysanus argentatarius (Cicadellidae) – 1st for VC58

• Ashton’s Flash, Cheshire (VC58)
• 17/08/2025
• Recorded and determined by Clive Washington
• A leafhopper typically found in damp grasslands and wetland margins. Used to be mainly confined to coastal SE England but has begun to spread inland across parts of central and southern England.

Eurygaster testudinaria (Pentatomidae) – Tortoise Bug

• North Wirral dunes (VC58)
• 06/08/2025
• Recorded and determined by Thomas Giles
• Gaitbarrows NNR (VC60)
• 02/08/2025 and 12/08/2025
• Recorded and determined by Nicola Garnham (2/8) and Steve Garland (12/8)
• A shield-shaped bug found in dry grasslands and coastal habitats. Expanding its range northwards. The Gaitbarrows records are currently represent the most North Westerly extent of it’s range in the UK.

Stictopleurus abutilon (Rhopalidae) – 1st for VC59

• Kindling Farm (VC59)
• 30/08/2025
• Recorded and determined by Phil Brighton
• A plant bug associated with dry grassland habitats. Adults may be seen thoughout the year. Historically rare in Britain, now spreading northwards.

Stictopleurus punctatonervosus (Rhopalidae)

• Kindling Farm (VC59)
• 30/08/2025
• Recorded and determined by Phil Brighton and Keith Fowler
• A dry grassland species feeding on Asteraceae. Previously rare but now well-established across southern and central England.

Butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera)

Trichoplusia ni (Noctuidae) – Ni Moth

• Appleton, Cheshire (VC58)
• 21/08/2025
• Recorded and determined by Clive Washington
• A migrant noctuid moth from southern Europe and North Africa. The online Cheshire moth atlas (records upto 2018) shows just one record from 1996.

Lasiommata megera (Nymphalidae) – Wall Brown

• Macclesfield Forest (VC58)
• 08/08/2025
• Recorded and determined by Rob Foster and Jane Hewitt
• A sun-loving butterfly typically found on open grassy paths and woodland edges. This record represents a second brood adult. Wall brown is scarce in Cheshire but occurs in a few sites in VC58 on the edge of the peak district.

Colias croceus (Pieridae) – Clouded Yellow

• Ness Gardens (VC58)
• 13/08/2025
• Recorded and determined by Roy Lowry
• Longridge Fell (VC60)
• 16/08/2025
• Recorded and determined by Pete Kinsella
• A striking migrant butterfly. Six individuals were seen at Longridge Fell, including a superb female of the pale helíce form.

iRecord top 10 species August 2025

References / sources

• British Bugs – Online identification guide to UK Hemiptera
• NBN Atlas – National Biodiversity Network data portal
• iRecord – Citizen science recording platform
• Dipterists Forum – UK society for Diptera research
• Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union journal – Regional entomological records
• NatureSpot – Species accounts and distribution maps
• GBIF – Global Biodiversity Information Facility
• Diptera.info – International Diptera image and discussion forum