Jncc coastal Directories Project Region 11 The Western Approaches

Region 11  Chapter 5  Important species
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Table 5.3.2  
Coastal Red Data Book (RDB) species in region (continued)
Species
Description and notes on recorded occurrence in the region
RDB3 (continued)
Colletes cunicularius
Mining bee, confined to the sandhills of north-west England and Wales.  Colonises old erosion hollows,
forming dense colonies on steep inclines.  Requires creeping willow Salix repens as a pollen source.  Can be
locally numerous within its range, but has a very restricted distribution.  Kenfig Burrows & Pool, 1993.
Emblethis verbasci
Strictly coastal groundbug; found in a range of vegetation types within its restricted range.  Known only from
the Isles of Scilly, Cornwall and Kent in Britain.  Bryher, 1965-1969; Gugh, 1966; Samson Group, 1965-1969;
Sennen Cove, 1989; St. Agnes, 1966; St. Martin’s, 1987; St. Mary’s, 1899; Tean, 1965-1969; Tresco, 1987.
Haematopota bigoti
Coastal blood sucking cleg (horsefly).  Larvae in soil in saltmarshes.  Southern coastlands north to Humber-
Mersey.  Middle Hope, 1983.
Hedychrum niemelai
Ruby-tailed wasp, parasitoid of sphecid wasps of the genus Cerceris, which are characteristic of open sandy
habitats such as heathland and dunes.  Apparently locally common in southern England in the past, from W.
Cornwall to W. Norfolk, but now seems to be very scarce, with post-1970 records from only a handful of sites.
Porthleven, 1991; Tidna Valley, 1981; Tintagel Cliffs SSSI, 1974.
Marbled clover moth
*Breckland, waste places, shingle and sandy beaches and chalk downland; larvae feed mainly on the flowers of
Heliothis viriplaca
wasteland plants, e.g. catchflies Silene spp., restharrows Ononis spp. etc.  Braunton Burrows, old record which
possibly requires confirmation.
Lathys stigmatisata
*Small spider so far recorded only from Kent, East Sussex, Cornwall and Lundy Island.  Coastal heath and
shingle.  Chapel Porth, 1960s; Kynance Cove SSSI, 1935; Lundy, 1920-1929.
Beautiful gothic moth
*Frequents grassy slopes and cliffs by the sea.  Larvae feed on grasses.  Very local in south-west England, Isle of
Leucochlaena oditis
Wight, Dorset and South Devon.  The Lizard, 1903.
Limonia (Dicranomyia)
Cranefly, on seepages on coastal cliffs and rock faces.  Biology unknown, although larvae probably develop in
goritiensis
damp soil or moss beside seepages.  Widely scattered but very local, occurring mainly in the north and west.
Cudden Point, 1989; Cwm Afon Col-Huw, 1992; East Aberthaw Coast, 1992; Godrevy Point and the Knavocks,
1990; Lundy, 1972; Morte Point, 1990; Pentire Peninsula SSSI, 1990.
Lionychus quadrillum
*3-4 mm bronze-black ground beetle.  Associated with river shingle, sand or gravel, sometimes in quite dry
places, but often near water or near the shore.  Loe Pool SSSI, old record.
Blackneck moth
Scarce; frequents cliffs and rocky places by the sea; larvae feed on wood vetch Vicia sylvatica.  North Devon,
Lygephila craccae
north Cornwall and a single site in N. Somerset.  Babbacombe Mouth, 1965; Foreland Point, 1971; Hobby to
Peppercombe, 1967; Lizard Point, 1985; St. Gennys and Crackington Haven, 1968; Steeple Point to Marsland
Mouth SSSI, 1991; Steeplepoint-Black Church - 1984; Watersmeet SSSI, 1971; West Exmoor Coast & Woods,
1971.
Miarus micros
Small weevil associated with sheep’s-bit Jasione montana.  Larvae live gregariously and pupate in the
flowerheads.  Known only from Cornwall.  Kynance Cove SSSI, 1970; The Lizard, pre-1970.
Nomada fulvicornis
Nomad bee, steals the food of Andrena bimaculata, A. pilipes and A. tibialis.  In most of the habitats used by its
hosts, including sandy areas on heaths, waste ground, coastal grassland and soft rock cliffs.  Formerly widely
distributed in southern England, but post-1970 records from only about 20 sites.  About half recent records are
from Kent and Sussex.  Near Winford Bridge, Arlington, 1991.
Nomada hirtipes
*Rare southern cuckoo bee associated with the solitary bee Andrena bucephala.  Durdham Down, old record.
Nomada lathburiana
Nomad bee, striped in yellow, black and red, steals the food of the bee Andrena cineraria.  Widely distributed,
especially in the south, but extremely local.  Chipman Valley, 1991.
Ochthebius poweri
1 mm black water beetle.  South-western species restricted to small seepages on cliff faces.  Cliffs in Devon,
Cornwall and Pembrokeshire; best known locality is the Red Sandstone cliffs between Exmouth and
Teignmouth in south Devon.  East Aberthaw Coast, 1992; Sennen Cove, 1912.
Piesma quadratum
So far as is known, this subspecies is endemic to the Isles of Scilly, where it was discovered in 1965.  Feeds on
spergulariae
rock sea-spurrey Spergularia rupicola on rocky headlands.  Originally described as a separate species.  Cruther’s
Point, St. Martin’s, 1987; Pelistry Bay, St. Mary’s, 1987; Peninnis Head, St. Mary’s, 1987.
Psen littoralis
Digger wasp, prey unknown, nesting possibly in the stems of marram Ammophila arenaria.  Frequents marram
dunes, locally common in Devon, parts of Wales and Lancashire.  Braunton Burrows, 1969; Kenfig Burrows &
Pool, 1993.
Solenopsis fugax
*Minute ant, nests usually constructed under deep stones and often linked with other ant species, such as
Lasius and Formica.  Noted on or near the coast in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Isle of Wight, Kent and
Essex. Brean Down, 1960; the Lizard, 1927.
Urophora spoliata
Small fly in a family of mostly picture-winged flies, though this species has mainly clear wings.  Detailed
biology unknown, although seemingly associated with saw wort Serratula tinctoria.  Known only from
S. Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and Cornwall.  Boscastle: Willapark to Harbour, 1990; Pentargon Cliff, 1989; the
Lizard, 1981.
pRDB3
Amara strenua
8-9.5 mm bronze-black oval plant-eating ground beetle living under debris in saltmarshes.  Very uncommon,
recorded from southern and south eastern coasts.  Dubious record from Derbyshire.  Pawlett Hams, 1982-1983.
Dialineura anilis
Stiletto fly associated with sand dunes.  Life history unknown though larvae probably develop in damp sand at
base of vegetation.  Mainly noted from the Welsh coast and the west coast of Scotland, also known from
Somerset and Lancashire.  Kenfig Burrows & Pool, 1992; Merthyr Mawr Warren, 1992.
Lasiacantha capucina
Lacebug; feeds on thyme Thymus drucei.  Confined to Cornwall, and extremely localised even there.  Beagles
Point, 1989; Chapel Porth, 1990; Chyvarloe Cliffs, 1989; Kynance Cliff, 1989; Lizard Point, 1989; Lower
Predannack Cliff, 1989; Mullion Cliffs to Predannack Head SSSI, 1989.

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