A review of the status of Drepanepteryx phalaenoides (Linn.) In Scotland (Neuroptera: Hemerobiidae)

2 Pages·1997·1.2 MB·

by  E G Hancock

GLASGOW NATURALISTVol 23 Part 2 pp23-24(1997)
A REVIEW OF THE STATUS OF DREPANEPTERYX PHALAENOIDES
(LINN.)
IN SCOTLAND (NEUROPTERA; HEMEROIIDAE).
E.G. HANCOCK1 and A.E. WHITTINGTON2
^rtGallery & Museum, Kelvingrove, Glasgow, G3 8AG
2National Museums ofScotland, Chambers St, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF
INTRODUCTION Dumfries (Stephens, 1836) and Roxburgh are included and
also shownon the map(Fig.1).
Drepanepteryxphalaenoides (Linn.) is an attractive lacew-
ing which has a long history in Scotland. Its resemblance Table 1. Scottish localities with summary of dates and
whenatresttoadeadleafisoneofthebestexamplesofcam- numbersofspecimens whereknown.
ouflage exhibited by a British insect (see Plate 2). This, and
Locality Date(s) Nos. Recorder Source
its elusive behaviour, have ensured that it has been regarded
as an insect ofsome note. The records show that it has been Raehills,
collected continuously at a number of Scottish localities for Dumfries. 18—? 1 Little lit.
over 175 years. Cleghom,
Lanarkshire 1828 1 Walker lit.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 1885-1893 5 King, Morton, etal.lit.
Carluke,
The appearance and apparent rarity of D. phalaenoides Lanarkshire 1885 [1] King, etal. lit.
have meant that whenever it has been seen by naturalists the 1892 1 Morton lit.
details havegenerally appeared in print.Theearliestnoticeof 1996 1 Robertson GM
its occurrence in the British Isles appears to be that ofCurtis Roslin,
(1828)whichmentionsaspecimenfoundnearLanarkinJune Midlothian 1933-1939 37 Morton NMS
1827 by a Mr H. Walker, thus giving the species native Brit- 1950 1 Fraser lit.
ish status. This record has been requoted on a number of 1985 Bland NMS
1
occasions (eg., King, 1901 & 1909; Morton, 1885 & 1910). 1995 Saville NMS
1
Stephens (1829) included itin his listofBritish insects based Denholm, 1972 1 Buckham NMS
on the cabinet of ‘D. Walker’, probably a mistranscription of Roxburghshire
‘H. Walker’ and derived from Curtis. Stephens (1836) illus- Pitlochry, 1892 1 Beaumont BOL
trates the species using a specimen from Raehills, Dum- Perthshire
friesshire which had been obtained from a Mr Little. It is Forglen, <1845 [1] Thorbum lit.
most likely that this is the ‘Rev. Mr William Little of Kirk- Banffshire
patrick-Juxta, Dumfriesshire’ as acknowledged by the BOL = Boltoni Museum & Art Gallery; GM = Glasgow
coleopterist Andrew Murray. Little had an extensive cabinet Museums; NMS =National MuseumsofScotland; lit. =from
which had been seen and named by James Francis Stephens published sourceswhere specimens notknown.
(1792-1852), thus giving an authority to the names so
bestowed by such an expert, and providing an invaluable ref-
erence for entomologists remote from London (Murray,
1853).
Thevalley ofthe RiverClyde nearLanark,embracingtrib-
utaries such as the Mouse Water and the Avon and Nethan
gorges, was, and still is,popularwithbothsightseers andnat-
uralists. D.phalaenoides was remarked upon following visits
to both Cleghom and Carluke by J.J.F.X. King, K.J. Morton
and R. McLachlan during the year 1885 (Anon., 1887; Mor-
ton, 1885). Subsequently, Morton was to recall that he
returned andfoundmore uptothe year 1893 (there is aspec-
imen ofhis in the National Museums ofScotland from Cleg-
homdated 5th October, 1891) when he added a new Scottish
locality, Roslin, Midlothian, forthe species (Morton, 1933).
The discovery of D. phalaenoides in Roslin Glen led to
Morton collecting it on at least 26 occasions between 1933
and 1939 which are represented by 37 specimens in the
National Museums of Scotland. Visits by others have pro- Figure 1. Distribution in Scotland based on specimens in
duced it at Roslin also, as summarised in Table 1. Othersites museums and published records. Larger squares represent
in Perthshire (Beaumont, 1893), Banff (Thorburn, 1845), Ordnance Survey 100km grid system.
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FINDINGTHE INSECT shown to have been continuously resident for many years. It
seems likelythatfieldworkatotherpromisingplacesin Scot-
Morton,asreportedinFraser(1951), lamentedthedifficul- land would reveal amuch widerdistribution.
ties in capturing this species, it having taken him on average
up to four hours to find each individual, collected by beating ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
beech, oak and hazel. This lacewing has also been beaten
from sallows andalder(Morton, 1910). Bob Saville and David Robertson generously made avail-
One collecting method ofparticular value is light trapping able their specimens and Val Muirhead her excellent photo-
(Plant, 1994) which can make the species appear common. graphs of live examples from Roslin Glen. Steve Garland
Neville Birkett (in litt., 14 September 1996) describes finding kindly provided the data from the Beaumont specimen from
up to three specimens per night in a light trap in a wood in Pitlochry in the Bolton Museum collection. Invaluable
southern Cumbria. Otherwise hunting by net is difficult. It is records wereobtained fromSIRI (the Scottish InsectRecords
possible that, like many ofthe snake flies (Rhaphidioptera), Index) and BRC (the Biological Records Centre, Hunting-
D.phalaenoideshas apreferencefortreetops, thusmakingit don). Rose Whittington provided useful assistance with
difficult or impossible to sweep or beat forthem. Undercer- drawingthe map(Fig 1.)
tain circumstances steep sided wooded ravines bring the tops REFERENCES
of trees more within reach. This might account for most of
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According to available data (Fig. 2) the flight period in pas. VI.Goecke&Evens,Krefeld.
Scotland is from May to October with a peak in recorded Beaumont, A. (1893). Drepanepteryx phalaenoides at Pitlochry.
activity in August. This would normally be regarded as typi- Entomologist’smonthlyMagazine29,263.
calofanunivoltine insect(havingone generationperyear). It Curtis,J. (1828).BritishEntomology, etc..Volume5,folio202.Lov-
has been proposed that adults may overwinter from October ellReeve&Co.,London.
onwards, only mating in the spring (Fraser, 1951). There is at Fraser, F.C. (1951) Drepanepteryxphalaenoides (L.) in Midlothian
present no evidence for this as adults have never been (Neur., Hemerobiidae). Entomologist's monthly Magazine 87,
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reportedinhibernation. Standfuss (in Morton, 1910)believed
that either eggs or larvae must be the overwintering stage. King, J.J.F.X. (1901). Insecta ( OrderNeuroptera- Plannipennia) in
Elliott, G.F.S. et al.. Fauna, Flora and Geology ofthe Clyde
ThematterremainsunresolvedwithAspiicketal. (1980)giv- Area.BritishAssociationHandbook,Glasgow.
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generations (bivoltine). This issue requires further examina- 1,55-56.
tion and the situation may differ over the geographical range Kirby,P.(1991).AreviewofthescarcerNeuropteraofGreatBritain.
ofthespecies. ResearchandSurveyinNatureConservation34, 1-30.
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rediscovery.Entomologist’smonthlyMagazine22, 139-140.
Morton, K.J. (1910). Life history of Drepanepteryx phalaenoides,
Linn.Entomologist’smonthlyMagazine46,54-62.
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lothian; anewcounty record. Entomologist'smonthlyMagazine
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Figure2. DatesofcaptureofScottishrecordsofDrepcmepteryxphalaenoides. Shirt, D.B. (1987). British RedData Books, 2.Insects. Nature Con-
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IS ITMOREORLESS COMMON? Stephens. J.F. (1836). IllustrationsofBritish Entomology. Mandibu-
lata6, 100(Platexxiii).
Given the difficulty of finding this lacewing but in the Thorbum, J. (1845). Parish ofForglen. Presbytery ofTurriff. Synod
knowledge that in certain places itcan be found using appro- ofAberdeen.NewStatisticalAccountofScotland 13,83.
priate searching techniques, we, like Morton (1933), are of
the opinion that its former status as a rarity is only apparent.
The current intensity of study of the Neuroptera in Britain,
because of the well organised national recording scheme, is
revealing D. phalaenoides as being local but widespread
(Plant, 1994). Neuroptera were not dealt with in the insect
Red Data Book (Shirt. 1987), but Kirby (1991) describes its
status as ‘local'.
At well known sites such as those in the Clyde Valley,
Lanarkshire, and Roslin, Midlothian, this species has been
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