This species is found mainly in moist meadows and hedgerows where adults feed mainly on umbellifers such as Heracleum sphondylium (Hogweed) and Anthriscus sylvestris (Cow Parsley). It is also found on nettles and thistles. Their flight time is May to August but numbers peak in May and June. It is a stem boring species who’s...
Two cold snaps early in the month were followed by much milder, damp weather, 15 days of measurable rain leading to a 20cm (8 inches) rise in the sand-dune water-table. Nevertheless, we had slightly less than normal rainfall for the month. The Met Office reported that December was the only month of 2022 with below...
This spreadsheet provides separate checklists for the picture-wing flies of VC58 (Cheshire), VC59 (South Lancashire) and West Lancashire (VC60) as at December 2021. For further details including the sources of data, national conservation status and the definition of “occurrence” see: Brighton, P. 2021. The Diptera of Lancashire and Cheshire: Picture-wing Flies (Opomyzidae, Pallopteridae, Platystomatidae, Tephritidae,...
Just for a change, November was a rather damp month, with measurable rain on as many as 18 days. Even so, rainfall amounts for the region were about average. Therefore, the sand-dune water-table rose by only 5 cm, as measured at the Devil’s Hole. It was a generally mild month here with no frost at...