A selection of notable records reported to Tanyptera. Includes older, but newly recognised regional vice county records (dates blue). ‘The region’ = VC58, 58, 60 + Cheshire, Lancs, Merseyside, Greater Manchester.

Araneae (Spiders)

Chilopoda (Centipedes)

Strigamia maritima (Linotaeniidae), Heysham Head, VC60, October, N. Garnham.

• Found only at the top of the shore, around the High-Water Spring stand line on the seaward side of the shingle bank.
• Although generally common around the UK coastline, appears to have only been recorded in VC60 in Spring 2017 by K. Clements at Red Nab, Heysham, Jack Scout and Crag Foot.

Coleoptera (Beetles)

Cryptarcha strigata (Nitidulidae), Combermere Park, VC58, 6/9-7/10, G. Hedges, Det. C. Washington.

• A Nationally Notable saproxylic species. A single specimen in a vane trap on a veteran Lime.
• Usually found at sap runs or under bark.
• Recent Cheshire records from Dunham Park, Tatton Park, and Woolston Eyes.

Smicrus filicornis (Ptiliidae), Appleton Park, Warrington, VC58, 20/10, C. Washington.

• Probably new to VC58 and the region. 11 records on NBN Atlas, none of which are NW. There are no records of this species on iRecord.
• Found in a Litter/grass/dung heap. Female dissected.
• This minute feather-wing beetle is 0.8 – 0.9 mm have been associated with the banks of waste waters.

Euconnus campestris (Staphylinidae), Appleton Park, Warrington, VC58, 20/10, C. Washington.

• Probably new to VC58. Elsewhere in the region, there are two unconfirmed records from Calderstones Park, Liverpool in 1981 & 1982 (Natural England Invertebrate Site Register dataset on NBN Atlas). The other 13 records on NBN Atlas are from the midlands and further south.
• As with most other representatives of the genus in the UK, they are considered generally rare.
• Found in a Litter/grass/dung heap. Keyed out using Hackson and confirmed by R. Booth.

Diptera (Flies)

Amauromyza verbasci (Agromyzidae), Lancaster, VC60, 8/10, R. Homan.

• New to VC60.
• Vacated mines in Figwort plants in woodland ground flora.
• Appears widespread in England and Wales, reaching just into Scotland.

Phytomyza agromyzina (Agromyzidae), Lancaster, VC60, 8/10, R. Homan.

• New to VC60.
• Vacated mines in a Cornus sanguinea cultivar.
• Appears widespread in much of England, but with few records further north and none on iRecord or NBN Atlas from Scotland.

Linnaemya picta (Tachinidae), Nether Kellet, VC60, 16/10, N. Garnham, Det. Chris Raper.

• New to VC60 record. Found in the Recorder’s garden.
• A species spreading North, having been rediscovered in Kent in 2009 after 43 years without a British record. First found in Merseyside in 2020 (P. Smith 2020).
• A parasitoid of various noctuid caterpillars.

Hemiptera (True Bugs)

Hymenoptera (Bees, Wasps & Ants)

Bees

Wasps

Aptesis nigrocincta (Ichneumonidae), Ollerton, Knutsford, VC58, 29/10, C. Curbishley.

• Appears to be first Cheshire record since Harry Britten in 1940s.
• A cocoon parasitoid of Apple Sawfly Hoplocampa testudinea
• There are just 14 records on NBN Atlas from Dorset to Scotland but none from the NW. Given spread of records and the fact the host species is locally common in the UK, the wasp is likely to be severely under recorded.
• There are 11 specimens in World Museum collections, including from Lancashire.

Sawflies

Odonata (Dragonflies and Damselflies)

Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)

Orthoptera (Grasshoppers and Crickets)

Meconema meridionale Southern Oak Bush-cricket (Tettigoniidae), Thornton, Sefton, VC59, 18/10, I. Wolfenden.

• Following the original find at Thornton in September 2022 (see notes), four more adults were found on 18/10 on a coppiced Hazel in the recorder’s back garden.
• This is the first known record of multiple individuals in Merseyside.