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Xylota segnis (Linnaeus, 1758)


Identification

Identification difficulty = 1. eyeball_icon camera_filled_icon according to Ball & Morris, 20241

Biology

The larva has been found in decaying sap under the bark of trees, and in sap runs created by the bark weevil Hylobius abietis, but also in habitats not associated with trees, such as silage and decomposing potatoes. It occurs in all sorts of woodland and scrub, but also along hedgerows and in parks and gardens. Adults are typically seen running rapidly backwards and forwards over sun-lit foliage. They rarely visit flowers in southern England but regularly attend the flowers of Meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria in Scotland (Morris, 2005)2.

Flight period

The following plots show the number of unique records per week excluding those reported to be of immature stages. Phenology plots for Xylota segnis

Distribution

Widespread and common in woodland and scrub of all kinds throughout Britain. Distribution map for Xylota segnis

Trends

The following plots show the Frescalo TFactor vs year and a map of the rescaled frequency (all records) for the species.Trend plots for Xylota segnis


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

  2. Morris, R. (2005). Xylota segnis (Linnaeus) (Diptera, Syrphidae): a regular flower visitor. Dipterists Digest (Second Series), 12, 95.