The Society for the study of flies (Diptera)

It's useful to understand when using NBN Gateway, that the Gateway only holds records which have been submitted to it, so inevitably there are only likely to be a small proportion of all records for a species actually held on NBN - particularly for most Diptera. That said, the Tachinid Recording Scheme is actively collecting records and submitting them to NBN, but even so, there will be numerous records not held by the scheme either. If you want to get an idea of just how incomplete NBN maps can be, type Musca domestica (house fly) in and view the map. You will see that there are very few records held by NBN, but we know it is likely to occur in most of the UK and is one of most widespread of flies.

Where no status for a species is given in a JNCC review then assume that it has no national status. In the case of something like Admontia grandicornis it is probably a an uncommon species, but unlikely to be nationally scarce or rare. Chris and Matt (Tachinid Recording Scheme) may be able to comment more definitively.

Last edited by conopid (2011-10-28 19:08:26)

Hi Rachel,

In the unpublished draft for the Scarce & Threatened Flies (Calyptrata) of Great Britain (Falk, Pont & Chandler, 2010, JNCC), it is provisionally graded as Data Deficient using the latest IUCN criteria (different to the grades in my original reviews). That means it is is felt to fall within the old concept of Red Data Book (Nationally Threatened), but nobody is quite confident enough to give it a grade - probably because the records are sparse but surprisinlgy widespread. I'd be delighted to find it! Where did you find it?

Hope this helps,

Falky

Hi Rachel,

Yes you've spotted some of the many conundrums affecting invertebrate conservation and general nature conservation - not helped by the fact that many of our top invert' sites do not correspond with top botanical sites or clear-cut NVC categories. But it is getting better as more people record and research flies, and as invert conservation gains an increasing profile (Highgate Common, Staffs for e.g. was notified a SSSI a few years back on the basis of its rare bees and wasps and many 2nd tier wildlife sites are supported by invert assemblages).

But also bear in mind that rare flies can be tramps and vagrants, not necessarily breeding where the adults are found, and often mis-represented in site designation and management. Discovered this big time on the Sussex Downs recently where species like Stratiomys longicornis and Atylotus rusticus are regulalrly found, even though they are breeding in nearby coastal levels.

Cheers,

Falky