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Provisional Atlas of the Long-Palped Craneflies (Diptera: Tipulinae) of Britain and Ireland

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Provisional Atlas of the Long-Palped Craneflies (Diptera: Tipulinae) of Britain and Ireland c ; T Cr) Institute of _tE Vs'? i`..-101. Terrestrial CON-RSEVATION 7 Ecology COMMITTEE Provisional atlas of the long-palped craneflies (Diptera: Tipulinae) of Britain and Ireland - Alan E Stubbs 0 0 t o t• is coo Natural Enwonmental Research Council Printed in Great Britain by Dixon Printing Co Ltd C NERC Copyright 1992 Published in 1992 by Biological Records Centre Institute of Terrestrial Ecology Monks Wood Abbots Ripton Huntingdon Cambs PEI7 2LS ISBN I 870393 16 3 The Institute of Terrestrial Ecology (ITE) is a component research organisation within the Natural Environment Research Council. The Institute is part of the Terrestrial and Freshwater Sciences Directorate, and was established in 1973 by the merger of the research stations of the Nature Conservancy with the Institute of Tree Biology. It has been at the forefront of ecological research ever since. The six research stations of the Institute provide a ready access to sites and to environmental and ecological problems in any part of Britain. In addition to the broad environmental knowledge and experience expected of the modem ecologist, each station has a range of special expertise and facilities. Thus, the Institute is able to provide unparailelled opportunities for long-term, multidisciplinary studies of complex environmental and ecological problems. ITE undertakes specialist ecological research on subjects ranging from micro-organisms to trees and mammals, from coastal habitats to uplands, from derelict land to air pollution. Understanding the ecology of different species of natural and man-made communities plays an increasingly important role in areas such as monitoring ecological aspects of agriculture, improving productivity in forestry, controlling pests, managing and conserving wildlife, assessing the causes and effects of pollution, and rehabilitating disturbed sites. The Institute's research is financed by the UK Government through the science budget, and by private and public sector customers who commission or sponsor specific research programmes. ITEs expertise is also widely used by international organisations in overseas collaborafive projects. The results of ITE research are available to those responsible for the protection, management and wise use of our natural resources, being published in a wide range of scientific journals, and in an ITE series of publications. The Annual Report contains more general information. The Biological Records Centre is operated by ITE, as part of the Environmental Information Centre, and receives financial support from the Joint Nature Conservation Cornrnittee. It seeks to help naturalists and research biologists to co-ordinate their efforLs in studying the occurrence of plants and animals in the British Isles, and to make the results of these studies available to others. Biological Records Centre Joint Nature Conservation Committee Institute of Terrestrial Ecology Monkstone House Monks Wood City Road Abbots Ripton PETERBOROUGH HUNTINGDON, Cambs PELT 2LS Cambs PEI Iff 04873 (Abbots Ripton) 381 karossas....**essmn,,,zw..r . e,...sru-s.-......e.ver•—•.,-,-..-..,--•. - ,.......-••••./z--, -,--...... 1 INSTITUTE OF TERRESTRIAL ECOLOGY LIBRARY GERViCE ED INBURGii LAB° iff.: ATO :'-: !Er3 BUSH FSTATE, PailCUa MIDLOTHIAN EH25 003 •••••••CIV197113alf Provisional atlas of the long-palped craneflies (Diptera: Tipulinae) of Britain and Ireland Alan E Stubbs (Peterborough) Biological Records Centre NERC Institute of Terrestrial Ecology Monks Wood Huntingdon This Atlas was edited for the Biological Records Centre by Paul T Harding and Mark G Telfer INSTITUTE OF TERRESTRIAL ECOLOGY LIBRARY SERVICE 8 AUC1992 bos.V. LL CONTENTS Page Preface 5 Introduction 7 Nomenclature 8 History of cranefly recording in Britain and Ireland 10 Nature of the cranefly data 14 The ecology and habitat associations of Tipulinae 16 Species status in Britain 21 Future recording 24 Distribution maps and species accounts 27 Acknowledgements 116 Bibliography 117 Species index 132 á PREFACE The opportunity to publish an atlas major field meetings, plus over 25 is an important landmark for any shorter meetings, many of which scheme. It provides feedback to yielded cranefly data. These recorders, and hopefully acts as a meetings have given a major boost further catalyst to them and, may it to knowledge of the cranefly fauna be said, to the scheme organiser. in many districts of Britain. The Nature Conservancy Council The Cranefly Recording Scheme is (NCC) survey of Welsh wetlands one of the longer standing has provided much valuable data, schemes, currently including 342 and I have identified (and sexed) confirmed species, and has 37 293 specimens (plus another remained very active in assembling estimated 22 910 in bulk samples of a considerable number of records. Sylvicola species). A similar NCC Feedback has admittedly been survey of wetlands in East Anglia limited, in part because I was also involved thousands of preparing a book on British identifications. Material and data hoverffies, published in November have been coming in from many 1983. In order to give new impetus other sources, as well as from my to cranefly recording, maps and own considerable recording. I text for provisional atlases to have also recently re-examined the Tipulinae and Ptychopteridae were Leeds City Museum collection of being prepared even while the over 2700 specimens. Irish data hoverfiy book was being have also been increased, with completed. A draft of the Tipulinae active Irish recorders and text and bibliography together with substantial material being hand plotted maps, were submitted otherwise submitted to the to the Biological Records Centre for Scheme. editing in 1984. Since there were substantial data, some with grid It is difficult to estimate the references to be completed and proportion of new data to that queries to be resolved, with a mapped up to 1984 (and indeed coverage of over 2000 10 krn there are still some earlier data to squares, such a task was a major check and process). It would have undertaking. been a major task to update the atlas manually, with the further Circumstances have been such that delay in feedback to recorders. As the atlas is eight field seasons out of I now have facilities to computerise date. Over this period the the scheme data, time is better database has grown considerably. spent on that task rather than For instance, the Diptera Recording dissipating effort on a further round Schemes have had a further 17 of manual plotting. 5 Despite the Atlas being far from up- that remain doubtful and are to-date, it is a substantial advance omitted from this atlas, on the on previous published information, reasonable basis that I have not both for the summaries of seen specimens. These are npula distribution(and ecology, as well as (Vestiplex) excisa Schum., a species for the bibliography. There are very like T. (V) montana (a some aspects which have been specimen from Snowdon in the updated. Natural History Museum which has conflicting characters is the closest The ecological notes on species potential candidate seen by me ) have been revised in the light of and Tipula (Yamatotipula) caesia new knowledge where Schum, which has a strong dark appropriate. In the case of costal wing margin. The latter is a Prionocera subsenicornis, grey species (rather than brown as Nephrotoma sullingtonensis and N in T. (Y.) marginella); on the aculeata, where only pre-1960 continent I have seen T. (Y.) caesia records were available in 1983, beside small open streams on recent records have been added. limestone. 71Pu la invenusta has been added to the British list very recently, so this Whilst naturally disappointed at the has also been included. long delay in publication, my thanks go to BRC for seeing this Provisional The long awaited Palaearctic check atlas into print. I would especially list is due for publication in April like thank Paul Harding for editing 1992 so nomenclature has been the text and advising on the layout brought right up-to-date. Although of the Atlas. I have been consulted by the authors of the list, there are two species attributed to the British list Alan E Stubbs March 1992 6 INTRODUCTION The Tipulinae are known as the the fauna of various habitats at long-palped craneflies, forming a certain times of year. sub-family within the Tipulidae. Such a classification is traditional in This Atlas summarises the state of Britain, but some European laiowledge about the distribution workers give family rank to what and ecology of the Tipulinae in are regarded as sub-families in Britain and Ireland on the basis of Britain. records which had been compiled by the Cranefiy Recording Scheme up to December 1983, with minor Eighty-seven species have been updates. There is also a review of found in Britain and Ireland, the study of craneflies and a although there are no recent bibliography of British and Irish records for six of these species. literature. The Cranefly Recording They are for the most part large Scheme covers Tipulidae, insects and as adults can form a Trichoceridae, Anisopodidae and conspicuous and major element of Ptychopteridae. 7 NOMENCLATURE The nomenclature used in this Atlas copy of his Palaearctic checklist of follows Kloet and Hincks (1976), 7ipulidae. with the few amendments which have been reported in Antenna. The genus npula is large and has a However, changes at the generic, worldwide distribution. For many sub-generic and specific levels years, it had been regarded as an have been made which follow entity by British and Irish
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