Species details

Epistrophe ochrostoma (Zetterstedt, 1849)

Biology

The larvae of this genus are aphidophagous, and mainly associated with trees, but also shrubs and tall herbs. In continental Europe adults are found in woodland clearings, perhaps including those in conifer forests, often flying rather high (Speight, 1988).

Distribution

This species was added to the British list on the basis of a single specimen found by David Heaver on a partly wooded slope on the south side of the Menai Strait in North Wales (Heaver, 1990). The occurrence of this species in Britain was predicted by Speight (1988) and separation from other British members of the genus is dealt with by Speight (1988) and Stubbs (1996). There have been no further specimens and therefore it seems likely that this is not a resident species.

Status

DATA DEFICIENT - Ball & Morris, 2010.