Species details

Heringia brevidens (Egger, 1865)

Nomenclature

Neocnemodon brevidens (Egger) in Stubbs & Falk (1983).

Biology

The larvae of Heringia appear to be predaceous upon aphids, and those of H. heringi and H. senilis are known to occur in galls in the stems of Poplar Populus leaves caused by Pemphigus populitransversus. Therefore, although the larva of H. brevidens is unknown, it seems likely that it will exhibit similar associations when found. The adults are likely to occur on sun-lit leaves and are known to visit flowers such as Marsh Marigold Caltha palustris.

Distribution

There are scattered records across England and Wales as far north as the dunes at Ainsdale. The first record was from a site on the River Wandle in south London in 1949, since when there have been records from a wide scatter of sites including recent records from Glamorganshire, Worcestershire, Middlesex, South Lancashire, and Cambridgeshire. There are a number of records for Woodwalton Fen NNR, but other reports tend to be of single occurrences.

Status

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