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 Paracraspedothrix montivaga host known?
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| John Bratton |
Posted on 18-06-2008 11:33
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Member Location: Menai Bridge, North Wales, UK Posts: 638 Joined: 17.10.06 |
Does anyone know the host of the small tachinid Paracraspedothrix montivaga, please? It was only recently discovered in Britain (2002 I think) but its few records are quite widely spread. I have now found it twice on seepages on limestone cliffs in Wales. I watched some for an hour hoping to see some egg-laying, but all they did was walk around on mossy tufa, tasting it. If their host is in the tufa, small cranefly or Oxycera larvae seem most likely. Though I am not certain the ones I was watching were females. John Bratton |
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| ChrisR |
Posted on 18-06-2008 12:20
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 Administrator Location: Reading, England Posts: 7699 Joined: 12.07.04 |
As far as I know the host is still unknown but it might be worth getting in touch with Peter Tschorsnig for the most up to date, Palaearctic viewpoint. This fly has a very strange distribution in the UK and had probably been around for quite some time, before it was found in 5 diverse locations in 2001 (see the 2002 paper here). They appear to like damp habitats but not particularly so and it's likely that the use of different sampling methods (Malaise traps etc) are the main factor in discovering this fly 
Edited by ChrisR on 18-06-2008 12:22 |
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| Kahis |
Posted on 18-06-2008 13:22
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 Member Location: Helsinki, Finland Posts: 1999 Joined: 02.09.04 |
The host is definitely not limited to Oxycera as Paracraspedothrix is rather widespread if not common in Finland while the three finnish species of Oxycera are extremely rare and found in very limited regions.
Kahis |
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but don't see the image in the post.