Species details

Platycheirus granditarsus (Forster, 1771)

Nomenclature

Pyrophaena granditarsa (Forster, 1771) om Stubbs & Falk (1983).

Biology

Larva undescribed. Pupae have been found in wetland flood litter. It occurs in wet meadows and in the lush vegetation fringing marshes, pond, lakes, etc including more acid habitats such as poor-fen and Purple Moorgrass Molinia caerulea grassland. Adults fly amongst stands of tall vegetation such as rushes Juncus sp. and Common Reed Phragmites australis and frequently settle on the stems. They visit a wide range of flowers, especially buttercups Ranunculus sp., and males can be found hovering over open areas such as paths.

Distribution

Widespread and common but seemingly much less regularly encountered in eastern England, especially in Lincolnshire and the east Midlands.