Species details

Platycheirus podagratus (Zetterstedt, 1838)

Biology

Larva unknown. Occurs at the edges of oligotrophic lakes and in boggy areas on moorland at moderate altitudes, although it has been found at 700m in the Pennines. Adults fly low amongst stands of vegetation such as sedges Carex sp. or rushes Juncus sp., usually close to water, and are often found by sweeping. It has been found visiting sedge flowers.

Distribution

A scarce and local species of northern England and Scotland, with most records from the Scottish Highlands. There are records from North Wales and a few from southern England, but these require confirmation. Some older records, which do not take into account recent species splits, may refer to P. occultus. Again, there are very few recent records from the southern part of the range, suggesting that the range reduction represents a retreat northwards.

Status

Was listed as "Notable" by Falk, 1991, but dropped from this status by Ball & Morris, 2010 who consider it LOWER RISK.