Posted by John Bratton on 18-06-2008 11:33
#1
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
Posted by ChrisR on 18-06-2008 12:20
#2
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
Posted by Kahis on 18-06-2008 13:22
#3
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.