Part 2: Nematocera and Aschiza not dealt with by Falk (1991) - JNCC

Rymosia signatipes (van der Wulp). There are about 40 post 1960 sites, widely dispersed in southern
England, with a few records from northern England and Wales. The larval biology is unknown; the
larvae probably develop in soft fungi, while adults have been recorded from damp broad-leaved
woodland.
Sceptonia costata (van der Wulp). This is less frequent than the common species of the genus but is
widely distributed and there are an increasing number of records scattered throughout Britain. It is
therefore considered likely to be under-recorded.
*Sciophila baltica Zaitzev was first recognised as British from a single male found at part of the
Ashridge Estate in Buckinghamshire (Chandler 1998a). Earlier specimens from the New Forest,
Hampshire (1986) and Savernake Forest, Wiltshire (1974) were found to have been confused with S.
hirta Meigen in collections (Chandler 2001a), I. Perry has since found it again at both localities (Denny
Wood, New Forest, 2000; Savernake Forest, 2004) and I found it at Newark Park, Gloucestershire in
2004. It is evidently widespread but scarce in old woodland in southern England.
*Sciophila caesarea Chandler was described by Chandler (2001a) from Jersey and a single male from a
Malaise trap at Buckingham Thick Copse, Northamptonshire 9 June 1992. It would be premature to
assign a conservation status to this species at present.
Sciophila fenestella Curtis. This was formerly thought rare but has now been found at a good number of
woodland sites throughout Britain, although mostly in the south; there are also two recent records from
Scotland (Newtown St Boswells, Roxburghshire; Grantown-on-Spey, Elgin). Of 46 site records, 43 are
post 1960.
Sciophila nonnisilva Hutson. This too was initially thought a rarity, only being first recognised (Hutson
1979) from the suction trap material from Monks Wood NNR, Huntingdonshire (Cole & Chandler 1979).
It is, however, being found at an increasing rate at woodland sites, mostly in England north to Yorkshire
(records from sixteen counties) but also a few records for Wales (Llanover Park, Monmouthshire and
Dinefwr Deer Park, Carmarthenshire, 1996; Nûg, Powis Castle Park, Montgomeryshire, 1996;
Denbighshire, 1988) and Scotland (Alness, East Ross, 1991). It has been reared from the Jew’s Ear
fungus (Auricularia auricula-judae) (Chandler 1993b), which is common in carr woodland and small
copses and in Estonia from Phellinus igniarius. Occurrence of S. nonnisilva at such sites has been
confirmed and there are now 46 sites known (all post 1960) so its absence from earlier collections is
rather puzzling unless it has indeed undergone a substantial population increase during this period.
*Sciophila parviareolata Santos Abreu was regarded as a synonym of S. hirta Meigen by Zaitzev (1981)
and has only recently been recognised both as a good species and to have been confused with S. hirta in
British collections. Attention was drawn to this by Chandler (1999a). Most records are old but scattered
throughout Britain (Middlesex, Oxfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Midlothian and Perthshire; see Chandler
2001a) and several earlier records are from indoors, possibly suggesting a garden origin. The only record
later than 1936 is from a Malaise trap in Buckingham Palace Garden, Middlesex in 1995 (Chandler
2001c). True S. hirta is a more frequent species and all rearing records apply to it. However, S.
parviareolata was already known from the Canary Islands and has since been recorded from Gough
Island in the South Atlantic by Jones et al. (2003), who suggested that it may have been introduced there
with building materials or crates and also postulated a possible association with fungi attacking
household timbers. Toft & Chandler (2004) record it from New Zealand on five records from 2001 to
2003, where two records are also from indoors and the remaining three are from water and mini-Malaise
traps in industrial areas of Port Nelson. These occurrences and the apparent propensity for being
transported around the world suggest a synanthropic association for this species, which may not be native
to this country.
Trichonta vulcani (Dziedzicki, 1989). A mainly northern and western species with one old record from
Lancashire and an additional 31 post 1970 records (28 post 1980), probably due to increased recording
within its range. Larval biology unknown, adults have been found in damp broad-leaved woodland.
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