Species details

Cheilosia chrysocoma (Meigen, 1822)

Biology

The larva of this species remains unknown, but egg laying has been observed on Wild Angelica Angelica sylvestris in Europe (Doczkal, 1996). Adults are typically found sitting on paths, sunning on vegetation or occasionally at flowers such as sallows Salix sp. catkins, in woodland rides, glades or edges. There are indications that calcareous marshy areas are preferred but records are not exclusively from such habitats.

Distribution

There are several obvious hot spots for this species, including parts of Oxfordshire, the limestone west and north of Peterborough, the Welsh borders and scattered localities in north and south Wales. There is also a hotspot in south Cumbria. In Scotland records are widely dispersed and form no obvious pattern.

Status

Lower risk (Nationally scarce) - Ball & Morris, 2010. Rare (RDB3) - Falk, 1991.