Peel Park is the largest Local Nature Reserve in Lancashire and currently the subject of a Prospects Foundation project to protect and improve pollinator populations and their habitats.
Over 20 broad habitat have been recorded, including heathland, broadleaved, coniferous and mixed plantation, semi-natural woodland, dense and scattered scrub, acidic, neutral and marshy grasslands, flushes, standing and running water, heathland, hedges, ditches and bare ground. The number of flowering plants and ferns recorded on the site is over 300, of which more than 250 are native to Britain. This is in addition to over 120 mosses & liverworts. However, the site doesn’t appear to have been the subject of extensive invertebrate recording.
Notable Records:
Flies (Diptera)
- A rather distinctive member of this large genus of small predatory flies
- Found at two separate locations in Peel Park.
- 42 iRecord records scattered from Devon to Speyside.
- New to VC59 and already on the lists for VCs 58 and 60.
- A small bright yellow cranefly described by Alan Stubbs as very widespread in the north and west in woods and the woodland/moorland transition.
- New to VC59
- A small Muscid found on the stepping stones on the stream flowing out of one of the pools on the east side of the park.
- This is the characteristic habitat – the aquatic larvae are predaceous on blackfly (Simuliidae) larvae. 27 records on iRecord, including VCs 58 and 60 – the latter from last year’s Dipterists field meeting.
- New to VC59
- Quite a large fly rather similar to a Helina species.
- Like most of this genus it is a mainly a northern species in Britain: Fonseca’s (1968) RES handbook describes it as abundant in Scotland but scarce in the south.
- New to VC59.
- It is already on the VC58 and 60 lists. There are only 13 iRecord records.
