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Pelecocera caledonicus Collin, 1940

Identification

Identification difficulty = 5. microscope_icon camera_icon_cross according to Ball & Morris, 20241

Synonymy

Previously known as Chamaesyrphus caledonicus, this genus has been sunk in Pelecocera (Speight, 20142.

Biology

Very little is known about the ecology of this species. Its larva is unknown and the very few records of adults provide few useful clues about its habitat preferences. Culbin Forest, which is the area that has yielded the greatest number of records, is a complex of plantation conifer woodland over sand dunes, some of which were heathland. Other known sites also involve pine woodland and heathland.

Status

VULNERABLE - Ball & Morris, 20142. Endangered (RDB1) - Falk, 19913 and Shirt, 19874.

Distribution

Confined to northern Scotland, but there is no obvious pattern to its distribution. The localities are widespread and include Culbin Sands (1903-1991), Rothiemurchus Forest (1988), Achfary Forest (1985) and old records from Boat of Garten (1903) and Rannoch (1917).

  1. Ball, S., & Morris, R. (2024). Hoverflies of Britain and Ireland. WILDGuides (3rd ed.). Oxford: Princeton University Press. ↩

  2. Ball, S., & Morris, R. (2014). A review of the scarce and threatened flies of Great Britain. Part 6: Syrphidae. ( No. 9). Species status (pp. 1–130). Peterborough: JNCC. ↩ ↩

  3. Falk, S. (1991). A review of the scarce and threatened flies of Great Britain. ( No. 39). Research and Survey in Nature Conservation (pp. 1–194). Peterborough: NCC. ↩

  4. Shirt, D. (Ed.). (1987). Red Data Books: 2. Insects. Peterborough: NCC. ↩