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)

Mycetophila cingulum (Mycetophilidae) – 1st for VC60 (1st for Lancashire)

• SD489697, Crag Bank (VC60), 26/09/25, rec. det. Rob Zloch.
• Likely widespread and fairly frequent in Britain, but poorly recorded.
• Fungus gnat associated with the fungus Polyporus squamosus. When the legless larvae disperse from the host fungus to pupate, they are known to leap distances up to 20 times their body length. To achieve this, the larva curls into a tight loop and snaps forward: catapulting itself as far as 15 cm.

Platypeza consobrina (Platypezidae) – 1st for VC60

• SD489697, Crag Bank (VC60), 26/09/25, rec. det. Rob Zloch.
• A few scattered records across England and Wales.
• Larvae feed on Honey Fungus (Armillaria sp.). Found in woodlands and parks.

Achalcus cinereus (Dolichopodidae) – 1st for VC60

• SD489697, Crag Bank (VC60), 26/09/25, rec. det. Rob Zloch.
• Most commonly recorded around Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, with scattered records in the west midlands and along the coast of wales. Rarely recorded in the north.

Lipoptena cervi – Deer Ked (Hippoboscidae) – 1st for VC60 (1st for Lancashire)

• SD546705, Lords Lot (VC60), 26/09/25, rec. Josh Boe, det. Rob Zloch.
• Most frequently recorded around the south of England and north of Scotland, Lipoptena cervi is a Haematophagous ectoparasite that typically parasitizes deer.

Leucophenga maculata (Drosophilidae)

• SD489697, Crag Bank (VC60), 26/09/25, rec. det. Rob Zloch.
• 2nd record for VC60, after a 2022 record from Challon Hall Allotment.
• Scattered records across England.

Beetles (Coleoptera)

Isochnus sequensi (Curculionidae)

• SD735003, Bridgewater Gardens, Worsley (VC59), 09/09/2025, rec. det. Ben Smart.
• Had been considered local and scarce, but is spreading and increasing from strongholds in south-eastern England. Only a handful of previous records in the region. It can be abundant where it occurs, but the adults must be identified as the mine is not unique.
• Large quantities of mines were found on Bay Willow in the car park of Bridgewater Gardens. Five adults were collected and identified.

Bugs (Hemiptera)

Graphocephala fennahi – Rhododendron Leafhopper (Cicadellidae)

• Hawksworth Drive, Formby (VC59), 03/09/2025, rec. det. Phil Smith.
• Introduced from North America in the 1930s – a more recent arrival to the vice county, with only a handful of records listed on iRecord for the region in the past few years.
• Found on Sycamore.

Linnavuoriana decempunctata (Cicadellidae)

• SJ8094, Longford Park (VC58), 01/09/2025, rec. det. Dave Higginson-Tranter.
• Considered local and occasional, with a small number of records in the region from previous years.
• Mostly found on birch in the summer, and on conifers, ivy and gorse in the colder months.

Chartoscirta cocksii (Saldidae)

• SD546705, Lords Lot (VC60), 26/09/2025, rec. det. Kevin Rowley.
• considered nationally scarce, with distribution primarily in Wales (although there are a few previous records of this species for the region in Cheshire).

Butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera)

Coleophora anatipennella – Pistol Case-bearer (Coleophoridae)

• SJ53037764, Hob Hey Wood (VC58), 30/09/2025, rec. det. Stephen Hind. Record from an empty leaf mine.
• Named for the resemblance in shape of the larval cases to an old flintlock pistol.
• Uncommon in the north, with very few records in the region from previous years. Species typically classified as local, and most distribution occurs mostly in a band across central England, from Norfolk toward Shropshire and Cheshire.

Helcystogramma rufescens – Orange Crest (Gelechiidae)

• SJ57468857, Garden, Great Sankey, Warrington (VC59), 18/09/2025, rec. det. Joy Mitchell-Lisle.
• Larvae overwinter on a number of grasses, especially Wood Small-reed and False-brome.
• Toward the northern end of the species’ range, with a few records of the species in the region in previous years.
• likely a second brood individual: only a handful of national records from September for this species this year, with most national records for adult specimens emerging around July. Second broods for this species are currently a rare occurrence.

iRecord top 10 species September 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