Newsletter No 42 Spring 2021 BMIG news In this Issue: AGM —the 2021 AGM will be held by Zoom on Saturday 10th April at BMIG Annual Page 2pm. All welcome to attend. The agenda, minutes of last AGM and Meeting 1 reports are on the website here. Centipedes on Page Field meeting spring 2021—Due to the ongoing COVID situation we the sea shore 1 are not holding a field meeting this spring. Instead we are holding a Rhinophoridae Page virtual Annual Meeting after the AGM with a series of talks. recording scheme 3 See below for details of how to register for the AGM and BMIG Annual Millipede-killing Page Meeting. flies 4 New British Page millipede(s) 5 BMIG Annual Meeting Centipedes on the sea shore Metatrichoniscoides Page In place of our usual spring field Having, at various times, attended a celticus in England 6 meeting, we’re holding a virtual Bioblitz in a coastal location, it Annual Meeting right after the BMIG always seems to attract interest Coastal Page AGM on Saturday 10th April, starting amongst other participants that one Trichoniscoides 7 around 2.50pm. There will be four might be looking for centipedes on sarsi talks, each lasting around 30 mins the sea shore. After all, as everyone 13th century Page (including questions), with a short knows, centipedes are terrestrial woodlouse/ 7 break after the second talk: animals even though sometimes found millipede? • Anthony Barber: Centipedes on the above the strand line and in the Expanding Page Beach: Geophilomorphs & the littoral splash zone. In fact, there are five Anamastigona 8 habit species of geophilomorph, from three pulchellum • Warren Maguire : A new BMIG Ommatoiulus Page Intertidal Isopod Recording Scheme sabulosus 9 • Steve Gregory: New British isopod Intro to and myriapod records centipedes, Page millipedes and 10 • Willson Gaul: The spatial woodlice distribution of millipede records in Ireland and implications for species BMIG training on Page distribution modelling the web 10 To register for the AGM and for the Notices and Page talks, visit: committee 11 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bmig-annual- contacts Strigamia maritima (Tony Barber) meeting-tickets-144763103339 @BritishMyriapodandIsopodGroup Keep in @britishmigroup 1 touch @britishmigroup www. bmig.org.uk/ BMIG Newsletter No 42 Spring 2021 different families which, in NW Europe, appear to often than S. maritima, Hydroschendyla submarina be exclusively halophilic and there are, maybe, as which, amongst other microsites, occurs in the many as forty such species on coastlines around the crevices of slaty rocks; indeed one early account world. In addition to these, Pachymerium ferrugineum, suggests the use of a crowbar to help find it. It tends a quite large and distinctive species, is by no means to be found relatively low on the shore with records confined to the seashore in a number of countries from various parts of the English coast, South but has only been found here very rarely and has Wales and the Channel Islands. The last legs are been associated with beaches in south & east very swollen in both sexes whereas in S. maritima England and the Channel Islands. this is characteristic of males, there is no basal tooth By far the most frequently found of our littoral to the poison claws and the coxal pores of the last species is Strigamia maritima, a red-coloured animal legs are only two on each side. recorded on shores, frequently in large numbers, The remaining species are pale or yellowish. from Shetland to the Channel Islands. Looking a bit Schendyla peyerimhoffi, which is found in crevices and like reddish polychaete worms, they rapidly other sites, resembles Schendyla nemorensis and it can disappear into their surroundings, especially if on sometime seem difficult to distinguish the two. shingle. Turning over a stone in the right place may Reference to differences in the inner edge of the reveal not just one or two but sometimes dozens of poison claw and to the relative proportions of the these animals and because of this and the possibility articles of the last legs is needed. There are records of harvesting eggs/juvenile stages, has been readily from the coasts of England, Wales, Isle of Man, available for population, developmental and genetic Channel Isles and Ireland. studies. When examined closely, the very large and Geophilus seurati (Geophilus gracilis) somewhat obvious tooth at the base of the poison claw, resembles Geophilus flavus but does show characteristic of our Strigamia species can be seen. carpophagus structures on its sternites. It is rather There is a second reddish species, recorded far less similar to the terrestrial Geophilus osquidatum and @BritishMyriapodandIsopodGroup Keep in @britishmigroup 2 touch @britishmigroup www. bmig.org.uk/ BMIG Newsletter No 42 Spring 2021 reference to the arrangement of the “scallops” along membrane of freshly moulted hosts. The larvae feed the inner edge of the poison claw is required. Often on the hemolymph and organs eventually leading to found on salt-marshes, etc. it has been recorded the death of the host. The larvae develop and from England, Wales, Scotland, Isle of Man, pupate inside the host, eventually emerging after Channel Islands and Ireland. pupation (Wood et al, 2018). Geophilus pusillifrater, a rather small species (13mm) The recording scheme would be very grateful for and lacking carpophagus structures, is rarely found any records or observations of behaviour, larval or but has been recorded from shingle, crevices, etc. adult Rhinophoridae in Britain and Ireland. The from England, Ireland and the Channel Islands. most recent arrival, Stevenia deceptoria, is a fairly The so-called “short form” of Pachymerium common species now particularly on the south ferrugineum with 43-45 or so leg-pairs has been coast where its range is expanding. The host is recorded a few times from the east and south coasts currently unknown so there are some exciting of England. It is widespread in mainland Europe discoveries to be made. Anybody who rears wild and also, apparently, quite tolerant of sea water so collected woodlice would be likely to encounter the British examples may be mostly chance vagrants adults, particularly the larger species. Host that may establish the species for a shorter or information included with the rhinophoridae longer time here having arrived from coastal sites species record is very valuable and would greatly elsewhere. Examples of the “long form” with 57 leg- benefit our knowledge of these fascinating flies. pairs have recently been found in Guernsey. It is a quite large (50mm), distinctive reddish-yellow animal with a darker anterior region and characteristic coxae to the last legs. Other geophilomorphs can also occur on the upper reaches of shores as vagrants including Geophilus flavus and Stigmatogaster subterranea. Tony Barber New Recording Scheme—‘Woodlouse Flies’ Rhinophoridae The Rhinophoridae recording scheme has recently been set up, covering all 8 species currently known in Great Britain and Ireland. As the common name ‘Woodlouse Flies’ suggests their biology is strongly linked to the terrestrial woodlice fauna, the larval stage of Rhinophoridae being internal parasitoids of Tricogena rubicosa Male (Ryan Mitchell) woodlice. The Adults can be found May-October in the field, when they oviposit their eggs on They can be found in a wide range of habitats just Woodlice uropod secretions. The 1st instar larvae like their woodlice hosts. Chalk grassland, then enter through the sternal intersegmental brownfield sites and costal habitats are some of the @BritishMyriapodandIsopodGroup Keep in @britishmigroup 3 touch @britishmigroup www. bmig.org.uk/ BMIG Newsletter No 42 Spring 2021 habitats where Rhinophoridae biodiversity seems to • Eggs and larvae of most British species can be be highest. Identification resources of adults and identified using Bedding (1973) Transactions of larvae are included in the resources section at the the RES 125: 27-44 bottom of this article. Wood, Camila Timm & Nihei, Silvio & Araujo, Paula. (2018). Woodlice and their parasitoid flies: Revision of Isopoda (Crustacea, Oniscidea) - Rhinophoridae (Insecta, Diptera) interaction and first record of a parasitized Neotropical woodlouse species. ZooKeys. 801. 10.3897/zookeys.801.26052. Ryan Mitchell 59 Norreys Road, Cumnor, Oxfordshire OX2 9PU Email:[email protected] Millipede-killing flies in Britain There are two species of “millipede-killing fly” (Phaeomyiinae) in Britain; Pelidnoptera fuscipennis, which is widespread but more common in England and Wales, and Pelidnoptera nigripennis, a scarcer species most often found in the Highlands but with Paykullia maculata Female (Steven Falk) some scattered records across Britain. It is thought both these flies parasitise Ommatoiulus sabulosus, If you do come across these marvellous flies in the although it seems this has never actually been field or from collected specimens please enter any observed either in Britain or abroad. sightings on iRecord or alternatively email me The Phaeomyiinae is a small group of just five directly at [email protected]. I am also happy Palaearctic species that sit within the family of to receive specimens through the post for “snail-killing flies” (Sciomyzidae). It was not until identification; please email me if you wish to send 1989 that phaeomyiines were discovered to be specimens. millipede parasitoids. Scientists searching for Resources natural enemies of Ommatoiulus moreleti in Portugal • BRITISH BLOWFLIES (CALLIPHORIDAE) discovered that Pelidnoptera