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.
Coleoptera (Beetles)
Cryptopleurum minutum (Hydrophilidae), Wybunbury Moss, VC58, 25/11/2024, S. Van-Toller
S. Van-Toller, 2024 (CC BY-NC-ND)
Larval gall found on Creeping Thistle.
5th VC58 record, with 799 other published UK records with a widespread distribution (nbnatlas.org.uk).
Little is known on the ecology of this species, but other species in the Hydrophilidae family (particularly those in the Sphaeridiinae subfamily) are terrestrial, and feed on decaying organic matter and dung (coleoptera.org.uk).
Possible 1st VC59 record, with 918 other published UK records across the south of England and Wales, with records as far north as York (nbnatlas.org.uk).
This species can be found most easily as galls on Creeping Thistle plants, which themselves grow in grassy areas. Eggs are laid onto the plant around June where the larvae hatch and crawl into the stem, forming a gall. Inside the gall, they feed into late summer where they then overwinter, pupate, and emerge as adults in May (naturespot.org.uk).
They are most easily identified by the gall which is a large green, fleshy growth on stems of Creeping Thistle plants. As adults, they are quite striking with an all black body and yellow scutellum, and white wings with a contrasting black ‘M’ shape on them (naturespot.org.uk).
Hemiptera (True Bugs)
Lachnus roboris (Aphididae), Allerton Cemetery, Warrington, VC58, 11/11/2024, S. McWilliam
S. McWilliam, 2024
Four adults sieved from moss.
Potentially 1st record for the North-west of England. 203 published UK records total, with a very scattered distribution around Leicester and London (nbnatlas.org.uk).
Also known as the Variegated Oak Aphid, they can be found on twigs and branches of various species of Oak (and occasionally Sweet Chestnut). Mature adults can be found from September to October, and they produce eggs which overwinter (influentialpoints.com).
The males are quite distinctive with black-banded wings, and females are wingless (influentialpoints.com).
4th VC58 record, with 402 other published UK records, with a distribution mainly across Wales and Northern Ireland, with a few dense clusters of records towards Norwich and Portsmouth (nbnatlas.org.uk).
Adults can be found throughout the year in bogs, fens, and wet heathland where they are associated with Cotton Grass, Bog Myrtle, and various Sedges (britishbugs.org.uk).
The most similar species to Pachybrachius fracticollis is P. luridus (which is a very rare species). P. fracticollis has very short pubescence on the pronotum, as well as a single row of spines on the front femora (whereas P. luridus does not) (britishbugs.org.uk.)
Possible 1st VC58 record, with 181 other published UK records, with a distribution mainly in the Midlands with a few scattered records across the UK (nbnatlas.org.uk).
Adults can be found throughout the year amongst leaf litter, grasses, and moss where it feeds on a variety of herbaceous plants (britishbugs.org.uk).
Drymus ryei most closely resembles D. sylvaticus and D. brunneus, and can be distinguished from them by the lack of hairs on the tibiae, black scutellum, and the darker and almost unicolourous wings (britishbugs.org.uk).
Trioza remota (Triozidae), Rosemoor Gardens, Liverpool, VC59, 02/11/2024, D. Higginson-Tranter
Archive Image: J. Graham, 2020 (CC-BY 2.0)
Nymphs’ galls found on Oak leaves.
Possible 1st VC59 record, with 378 other published UK records. The distribution is mainly from the South of the UK up to the Midlands, as well as several around the north-west coast of Scotland (nbnatlas.org.uk). Like many other gall species, it could be under-recorded.
Nymphs can be found in galls on Oak leaves from July to September, and the adults overwinter in conifers (britishbugs.org.uk).
The galls the nymphs create are shallow pits on the underside of Oak leaves in which the nymphs rest. As adults, they somewhat resemble aphids and are yellow to orange in colour (britishbugs.org.uk).
