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Species Account for Catharosia pygmaea

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Catharosia pygmaea  (Fallén, 1815)
Diptera: other groups: Tachinidae

Catharosia pygmaea Copyright: Peter Harvey

 
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Taxonomic group: flies (other) (Diptera: other groups) - County data

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Records: 13
First Record: 1998
Latest Record: 2022

1992-on hectads: 6
Pre-1992 hectads: 0
Total hectads: 6

Additional Phenology Data

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Catharosia pygmaea
Catharosia pygmaea

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Catharosia pygmaea on Tachinid Recording Scheme website
 
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Essex Red Data List comment
Recorded from 5 out of 57x10km.sq. records in county

Species text
Catharosia pygmaea was first recorded in Britain in 1996 from grassland with invading scrub on made-up ground on a disused railway line in Coventry. A closely related north American species has been reared from lygaeid bugs, and the Coventry specimens were swept from floristically diverse ruderal grassland, tall herb or scrub foliage supporting the lygaeid bugs Drymus sylvaticus, Heterogaster urticae, Kleidocerys resedae, Peritrechus geniculatus, Scolopostethus affinis, S. grandis and Taphropeltus contractus (Falk, 1998). The first Essex records of this parasitic fly were from silt lagoons at Rainham (1998), and then from Canvey Wick (1999, 2000, 2002 and 2003). A specimen brought home with several flowerheads of Carrot to photograph displayed an interesting behaviour. Unlike the related parasitic fly Gymnosoma nitens, which appears to nectar on Carrot flowers, the Catharosia pygmaea did not appear to feed, but rather moved rapidly around on the top surface, periodically disappearing between flowers to remain underneath for some time, before reappearing. It may have been looking for potential host bugs. Lygaeid bugs recorded in the same area were Nysius ericae and Peritrechus nubilus, as well as the rhopalid bug Stictopleurus punctatonervosus. Lygaeid bugs recorded at the site are Drymus latus, Heterogaster urticae, Ischnodemus sabuleti, Megalonotus chiragra, Megalonotus emarginatus, Nysius ericae, Peritrechus geniculatus, Peritrechus nubilus, Scolopostethus affinis and Stygnocoris sabulosus. References

Species text last edited on Tue Mar 20th 2007 by user 3

Habitats

Broad Habitat Data (based on 8 records with habitat information)

Broad subhabitat Data (based on 1 records with subhabitat information)

Structural Habitat Data (based on 5 records with structural habitat information)

Habitat Detail and Method (based on 13 records with habitat detail and method information)

Recorded management for locations with Catharosia pygmaea

Recorded substrate and hydrology for locations with Catharosia pygmaea

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