July-September 1997

Number 1022
Volume 122

A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY FOR THE NORTH OF ENGLAND

The Beetles of Spurn Peninsula: an Update — M. L. Denton

The Vegetation of Spurn (1946-1996) — Eva Crackles

The Current Status of the Water Vole Arvicola terrestris in the
Peak District — D. W. Yalden

The White-faced Dragonfly Leucorrhinia dubia (Vander L.) on
Thorne Moors — Martin Limbert

Notes on the Marsh Flies (Diptera: Sciomyzidae) of Yorkshire —

Roy Crossley

Recorder’s Sixth Report of the Aculeate Hymenoptera in
Watsonian Yorkshire — Michael E. Archer

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Published by the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union

Editor M. R. D. Seaward, MSc, PhD, DSc, FLS, The University, Bradford BD7 1DP

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69

THE BEETLES OF SPURN PENINSULA: AN UPDATE

M. L. DENTON

77 Hawthorne Terrace, Crosland Moor, Huddersfield HD4 5RP

The Beetles of Spurn Peninsula (Denton, 1995) is an up-to-date assessment of the known
beetle fauna of this important Yorkshire Wildlife Trust reserve. This work brought together
the results of surveys carried out by the YNU Entomological Section during the years
1947-1953 (organised by the late W. D. Hincks) and that of work by a number of
coleopterists during the decade and a half leading up to its publication. By the end of the
period a total of 689 species of beetle had been reliably identified from the Peninsula.

One of the interesting aspects of publishing a report on any Natural History order is that
it can stimulate recorders to search their archives and bring forward unpublished data. The
Beetles of Spurn Peninsula is no exception, and Dr R. C. Welch has been kind enough
to supply a wealth of information regarding a visit he made in late July 1963. Similarly,
R. J. Marsh, having now put all the Yorkshire coleoptera records in his charge on to
computer, has been kind enough to supply details from this archive.

Works of this nature also tend to generate an interest in the area concerned and ongoing
work by various coleopterists, including the author, has resulted in records which have
added to the known distribution or, in some cases, added new species. A thorough search
of the literature has also revealed several hitherto unknown records. The following list
documents those findings and brings the Spurn List of Coleoptera up-to-date. All locality
names mentioned below will be found on the maps in The Beetles of Spurn Peninsula with
the exception of Kilnsea Church which is adjacent to the northern edge of the reserve some
100 metres to the east of the ‘Crown and Anchor’.

In compiling the list which follows I am greatly indebted to the following collectors and
recorders: the late E. G. Bayford (EGB); P. A. Crowther (PAC); J. H. Flint (JHF); the late
W. J. Fordham (WJF); the late W. D. Hincks (WDH); C. Johnson (CJ); R. J. Marsh (RJM);
the late E. J. Pearce (EJP); the late S. Shaw (SS); B. R. Spence (BRS); the late T. Stainforth
(TS); the late W. O. Steel (WOS); the late G. B. Walsh (GBW) and R. C. Welch (RCW).
The initials ‘MJS‘ remain untraced.

As few voucher specimens have been traced it has not been possible to apply a critical
standard of verification and in most instances the identification must remain with the
original entomologist. With the addition of 31 new species and the deletion of Leiodes
dubia (Kugelann), the Spurn List of Coleoptera now stands at 719. Nomenclature follows
Pope (1977) or more recent revisions.

Leistus ferrugineus (Linnaeus). A single found under driftwood at the entrance to the
Heligoland trap at ‘Wire Dump’ on 12/5/96 (PAC) adds to the known distribution. The
only previous records were from the Warren, Main Ridge and the Point (including the
dunes).

Notiophilus biguttatus (Fabricius). A single from under a log beneath an elder Sambucus
nigra bush at the Point on 23/7/63 (RCW) adds to the known distribution. The only
previous records were from the Warren, the ‘Blue Bell’ and Chalk Bank.

Dyschirius globosus (Herbst). A single located on mud at the edge of the ‘Bomb Crater’ on
23/7/63 (RCW) was the first record since specimens were found in the ‘Canal Zone’
during the initial survey.

Trechus quadristriatus (Schrank). A single in the Point dunes on 23/7/63 (RCW) adds to
the known distribution. The species had previously only been encountered as far south as
the salt marsh at ‘Wire Dump’.

Bembidion fumigatum (Duftschmid). During the years of the initial survey the species was
present in the Phragmites marsh. This area is no longer extant, and the only record since
this time concerns a single under seaweed (exact location unknown) on 20/7/63 (RCW).
Bembidion normannum Dejean. Four specimens encountered on mud at the edge of the
‘Bomb Crater’ on 23/7/63 (RCW) constitute the fourth record and the first since 6/51.

Naturalist 122 (1997)

70

The Beetles of Spurn Peninsula: an Update

The other records were from the ‘marsh meadow’ and the ‘Canal Zone’.

Bembidion genei Kuster. There are three previous records: around ‘Pallas’s Pond’ in 6/50
and unknown locations on 14/8/49 and 20/7/63. It is now known that specimens, collected
independently on the last mentioned date and also the following day, originated from mud
along the waters edge of ‘Boundary Dyke’ (RCW pers. comm.).

Bembidion iricolor Bedel. Specimens found on mud at the edge of ‘Pallas’s Pond’ on
21/7/63 (RCW) constitute the second record since the initial survey. All other records
were from the Warren northwards.

Bembidion lunulatum (Fourcroy). Located on mud at the edge of ‘Pallas’s Pond’ and along
the edge of ‘Boundary Dyke’ on 21/7/63 (RCW). The only other records were from an
unknown location on 14/8/49 and the ‘marsh meadow’ on 4/6/50.

Pogonus chalceus (Marsham). A single on the Humber shore at the Warren on 16/9/96
(MLD) was the sixth (and second recent) record. The others were from the salt marsh at
‘Wire Dump’ in 7/48, 9/49 and 6/50, the ‘Canal Zone’ in 8/49 and the ‘Scrape Field’ in 9
and 10/82.

Pterostichus niger (Schaller). The only records were from the Warren on 8/6/50 and
17/8/85. The species was encountered at the end of 7/63 but, unfortunately, no locality or
collecting details are available (RCW).

Pterostichus nigrita (Paykull). A record of this species from the Phragmites marsh on
20/8/49 was questioned in light of recent splitting (Luff, 1990) and the lack of any
voucher specimens. A single male on the mud at the edge of the ‘Bomb Crater’ on
23/7/63 (RCW) has been checked since this taxonomic revision and reinstates this as a
Spurn species.

Calathus melanocephalus (Linnaeus). Specimens located under drift refuse and under a
dead porpoise Phocoena phocoena along the coast (exact location unknown) on 21/7/63
(RCW) and a single found under decaying rhubarb leaves at the side of the Annexe on
16/9/96 (MLD) were the fourth and fifth records; the rest were from the Warren area.
These records have been checked since the taxonomic revision by Anderson and Luff
(1994). Past records from along the Humber foreshore (exact locations unknown) require
confirmation on account of this splitting.

Agonum fuliginosum (Panzer). Specimens were located amongst reeds at the edge of
‘Pallas’s Pond’ on 23/7/63 (RCW). This was the first record since being found in the
‘Canal Zone’ and the Phragmites marsh during the years of the initial survey.

Agonum moestum (Duftschmid). The only previous records were from the environs of
‘Pallas’s Pond’ on 10/6/50 and the Phragmites marsh on 21/6/51. Specimens were found
under stones (exact location unknown) on 20/7/63 (RCW) and amongst reeds at the edge
of ‘Pallas’s Pond’ on 23/7/63 (RCW).

Amara aulica (Panzer). Four specimens found under stones near the gentlemen’s toilet of
the ‘Crown and Anchor’ on 20/7/63 (RCW) brings the total number of records to five.
The others were from the Humber shore (exact location unknown) and the Warren during
the years of the initial survey and the Point on 29/4/92. This record is, technically
speaking, 20 metres north of the recording area.

Amara bifrons (Gyllenhal). The only previous record was from the Humber foreshore (exact
location unknown) on 17/7/48. Four specimens were located under stones near the
gentlemen’s toilet of the ‘Crown and Anchor’ on 20/7/63 (RCW). This record is,
technically speaking, 20 metres north of the recording area.

Harpalus rufipes (Degeer). The only records were from the Warren area on 17/7/48 and
8/6/50 and the edge of ‘Canal Scrape’ on 20/6/90 and 2/5/93. The species was
encountered at the end of 7/63 but, unfortunately, no locality or collecting details are
available (RCW).

Harpalus rufibarbis (Fabricius). Previously encountered at an unrecorded location during
1919 and, within the last decade, on the Humber shore at the Warren and near the ‘Canal
Scrape’ hide. Additionally, specimens were located under a stone near the gentlemen’s
toilet of the ‘Crown and Anchor’ on 20/7/63 (RCW). This record is, technically speaking,
20 metres to the north of the recording area.

71

The Beetles of Spurn Peninsula: an Update

Harpalus afftnis (Schrank). Examples located in the Point dunes on 23/7/63 (RCW) add to
the known distribution. The species had previously only been encountered as far south as
Chalk Bank.

Harpalus latus (Linnaeus). Specimens found under drift refuse (exact location unknown)
on 22/7/63 (RCW) bring the total number of records to four. The previous records were
from the Point on 3/7/66, on the road south of the Warren on 1/5/93 and on the Humber
shore south of the Warren on the same date.

Stenolophus mixtus (Herbst). Examples located on mud at the edge of the ‘Bomb Crater’ on
23/7/63 (RCW) constitute the first record since several examples were found in grass
roots at the Warren in 6/50 and 6/51.

Badister bipustulatus (Fabricius). Formerly recorded from the Warren, Main Ridge, ‘Canal
Scrape’ and the salt marsh at ‘Wire Dump’. Records from the Point dunes on 7 and
9/4/95 add to the known distribution (PAC).

Chlaenius vestitus (Paykull). A single female found in a light trap in the field adjacent to
Kilnsea Church on 7/6/96 (PAC teste MLD) constitutes the first record for the Peninsula.
This record is, technically speaking, 20 metres to the north of the recording area.

Haliplus apicalis Thomson. There is a record on the YNU database of this species
occurring at Spurn (exact location unknown) on an early 20th century date. As this
record was prior to the realisation that genitalia dissection was necessary for
identification and, as no voucher specimens are known for confirmation, the species has
not been admitted to the Spurn List.

Dytiscus circumflexus Fabricius. A single male was located in the ‘Bomb Crater’ on
19/8/70 (EJP). This is the fourth record and the first since 1951. The others were from
the ‘Canal’, the ‘Bomb Crater’ and the pond near the Humber shore.

Gyrinus caspius Menetries. Three specimens were located in the ‘Bomb Crater’ on 23/7/63
(RCW) and examples were found in an unrecorded location in 6/67 (JHF). The only
other record concerned a single from the ‘Bomb Crater’ in 6/5 1 . Generally confined to
coastal drains, there are only three other Yorkshire records.

Gyrinus substriatus Stephens. Specimens from the ‘Bomb Crater’ on 23/7/63 (RCW) bring
the total number of records to four. The other records were from a static tank at the
Warren on 14/6/47 and ‘Pallas’s Pond’ on 21/8/49 and 1/7/93.

Helophorus brevipalpis Bedel. Originally encountered in the ‘Boundary Dyke’ and the
pond near the Humber shore in 6/47 and the Phragmites marsh and the marram on the
Humber shore near the Warren (exact location unknown) in 7/48. The only records since
this time concern specimens located in mud along the waters edge of ‘Boundary Dyke’
on 20/7/63, in the Point dunes on 22 and 23/7/63 and on the edge of the ‘Bomb Crater’
on 23/7/63 (all RCW). The records from the Point dunes extend the species’ known
distribution.

Cercyon haemorrhoidalis (Fabricius). Specimens found in the Point dunes on 23/7/63 and
in a dead rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus (exact location unknown) on the same date (both
RCW) constitute the first records since the initial survey. The previous records were
from the ‘marsh meadow’, the Phragmites marsh and from a dead porpoise Phocoena
phocoena on the Humber shore (exact location unknown).

Cercyon unipunctatus (Linnaeus). Examples found in pitfall traps in a rabbit Oryctolagus
cuniculus burrow (exact location unknown) on 23/7/63 (RCW) constitute the second
record. The other concerned specimens encountered under straw refuse in the ‘marsh
meadow’ on 9/6/50.

Cercyon ustulatus (Preyssler). The only record was of specimens found in ‘Pallas’s Pond’
on 10/6/50. The species was encountered at the end of 7/63 but, unfortunately, no
locality or collecting details are available (RCW).

Berosus affinis Brulle, B. luridus (Linnaeus) and B. signaticollis (Charpentier). There are
records on the YNU database of these species occurring at Spurn (at unknown locations)
in the early 20th century (EGB). These are the only records for the Peninsula. All three
species are afforded Notable B status, being thought to occur in between 31 and 100
10km squares of the National Grid.

72 The Beetles of Spurn Peninsula: an Update

Saprinus cuspidatus Ihssen. Five specimens found in a dead porpoise Phocoena phocoena
at an unknown location on 23/7/63 (RCW) constitutes the first record for the Peninsula.
Confined to coastal sandhills, the species is afforded Notable B status, being thought to
occur in between 31 and 100 10km squares of the National Grid. This is the only
Yorkshire record.

Saprinus semistriatus (Scriba). The only previous records were from carcasses during the
summer months of 1947-1953 (exact locations unknown) and from cow dung in the
‘marsh meadow’ on 21/7/48. Four specimens were located in a dead rabbit Oryctolagus
cuniculus (exact location unknown) on 22/7/63 (RCW) and a single was found under a
dead Common Shrew Sorex araneus at the Point on 1 1/8/95 (PAC teste MLD).

Baeckmanniolus dimidiatus (Illiger). A single from a dead gull Larus spp. on the seashore
(exact location unknown) on 4/5/74 (MJS det. MLD) was the fourth record (the second
recent). The others were from the Point and Humber foreshore (exact location unknown)
in the late 1940s and Chalk Bank on 20/6/90.

Ptenidium laevigatum Erichson. A single from the Humber Shore Clay Banks on 17/6/51
(SS) is in the Manchester University Museum collection and has been identified as this
species (CJ pers. comm.). This is the first and only Spurn record.

Ptenidium pusillum (Gyllenhal). Examples collected by SS at an unknown location on an
unrecorded date (most probably during the 1947-1953 survey) are in the Manchester
Museum University collection and have now been ascribed to this species (Johnson,
1990). This record predates the only published record from Chalk Bank on 7/4/88.

Acrotrichis fascicularis (Herbst). Specimens in the Manchester University Museum
collection, located at the Warren in 1950 (SS), have now been ascribed to this species
(CJ pers. comm.). This is the first and only record for the Peninsula.

Acrotrichis montandoni (Allibert). Two examples from the Warren on 26/7/53 (WDH) are
in the Manchester University Museum collection and have been ascribed to this species
(CJ pers. comm.). This is the first and only Spurn record.

Acrotrichis sitkaensis (Motschulsky). Three specimens from the Phragmites marsh (two on
20/6/51, the other on 21/6/51) (SS) are in the Manchester University Museum collection
and have been identified as this species (CJ pers. comm.). There are no other Spurn
records.

Acrotrichis thoracica (Waltl). A single from the Warren on 26/7/53 (WDH) is in the
Manchester University Museum collection and has been ascribed to this species (CJ
pers. comm.). This is the first and only record for the Peninsula.

Leiodes dubia (Kugelann). Specimens were encountered in the Warren area on 4 and
7/6/50. This species, which was probably added to the British List in error, has now been
deleted as all examined specimens standing as ‘ dubia ’ have been found to refer to L.
rufipennis (Paykull) (Cooter, 1996). In light of this nomenclature problem, and as no
specimens are available for re-identification, the species has been removed from the
Spurn List.

Leiodes ferruginea (Fabricius). Specimens found under a dead rabbit Oryctolagus
cuniculus at the Point on 23/7/63 (RCW) constitute the first and only record for the
Peninsula.

Liocyrtusa minuta (Ahrens). Examples were found at an unrecorded location on 4/6/50. In
the light of past identification problems (Cooter, 1996), and the lack of voucher
specimens for confirmation, the species has not been added to the Spurn List.

Agathidium laevigatum Erichson. A single on sand at the top of the beach (exact location
unknown) on 20/7/63 (RCW) was the third record, the others being from the Warren on
4/6/50 and the sea cliffs at the Warren on 9/6/50.

Sciodrepoides watsoni (Spence). A single male in a carrion-baited pitfall trap at the Warren
on 24/7/63 (RCW) constitutes the first and only record for the Peninsula.

Catops chrysomeloides (Panzer). A male in a carrion-baited pitfall trap at the Warren on
24/7/63 (RCW) was the second record, the first specimen having been found at the
entrance to a fox Vulpes vulpes earth on the Main Ridge on 8/6/50.

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The Beetles of Spurn Peninsula: an Update

Catops morio (Fabricius). The single previous record was of specimens located in a vole’s
nest and droppings at the Warren during the initial survey. The only subsequent record
concerns two males and three females from carrion-baited pitfall traps at the Warren on
24/7/63 (RCW).

Nicrophorus humator (Gleditsch). This species was found to be a frequent visitor to the
light trap at the Warren during the summer/autumn months of 1996 (PAC pers. comm.).
The only other records concerned specimens from an unknown area in 7/1 1 and the light
trap at the Warren on 19/7/53 and 20/5/93.

Nicrophorus vespillo (Linnaeus). A single in dead rats Rattus spp. at an unknown location
on 24/7/63 (RCW) constitutes the first and only record for the Peninsula.

Thanatophilus rugosus (Linnaeus). Encountered abundantly on carcasses at the Warren,
along the Main Ridge and on the Humber foreshore (exact location unknown) during the
summer months of 1947-1953. Two specimens under fox Vulpes vulpes dung (exact
location unknown) on 21/7/63 (RCW), a single in dead rats Rattus spp. (exact location
unknown) on 24/7/63 (RCW) and a single from a dead fulmar Fulmarus glacialis on the
seashore (exact location unknown) on 4/5/74 (MJS det. MLD) were the third to fifth
records since the initial survey, the others being from Chalk Bank on 23/6/90 and
‘Clubley’s Field’ on 31/5/92.

Scydmaenus tarsatus Muller & Kunze. Specimens located near the Lighthouse on 7/4/88
(RJM) constitute the first and only record for the Peninsula.

Lesteva pubescens Mannerheim. Examples from an unrecorded location in 5/28 (WDH)
constitute the first and only Spurn record.

Bledius germanicus Wagner. Formerly encountered in a small colony in the banks of the
pond in the Phragmites marsh in 6/52 and in the Warren area on 21/7/63. Additionally, a
male and female were found in mud along the waters edge of ‘Boundary Dyke’ on
20/7/63 with a male and seven females being present there the following day (RCW).

Bledius opacus (Block). Three specimens from a dry sandy area (exact location unknown)
on 21/7/63 (RCW) was the second record. The other concerned a very small colony
which was present in the salt marsh at ‘Wire Dump' in 6/47.

Platystethus arenarius (Fourcroy). Specimens from under seaweed (exact location
unknown) on 20 and 23/7/63 (RCW) constitute the first records since a few specimens
were located in wet places on the sea cliffs (exact locations unknown) in 7/52.

Anotylus maritimus Thomson. The records of examples under seaweed (exact location
unknown) on 20, 22 and 23/7/63 (RCW) predate the only published record of a single in
the salt marsh at ‘Wire Dump’ on 29/8/85.

Stenus nanus Stephens. A single female found on mud at the edge of the ‘Bomb Crater’ on
23/7/63 (RCW) constitutes the first and only record for the Peninsula.

Stenus providus Erichson = ( Stenus rogeri Kraatz). A single found under decaying rhubarb
leaves at the side of the Annexe on 16/9/96 (MLD) was the second record. The other,
again of a single, was located under old straw in ‘Clubley’s Field’ on 21/1 1/90.

Philonthus addendus Sharp. A single male from Chalk Bank on 19/11/91 (MLD)
constitutes the first and only record for the Peninsula.

Philonthus sordidus (Gravenhorst). Specimens from the Point on 22/7/63 (RCW) add to
the known distribution. The species had previously only been encountered north of ‘Wire
Dump’.

Philonthus varians (Paykull). Two females under a dead rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus at
the Point on 23/7/63 (RCW) add to the known distribution. The species had previously
only been encountered in the northern half of the Peninsula.

Ocypus brunnipes Fabricius. Three examples found in the Point dunes on 23/7/63 (RCW)
add to the known distribution. The species had previously only been encountered to the
north of the ‘Narrow Neck’. It is now known that the record from the Humber foreshore
on 20/7/65, originally published as from an unknown location, was from the foreshore at
the Warren.

Ocypus nero Faldermann. There is a record on the YNU database of this species occurring

74

The Beetles of Spurn Peninsula: an Update

at Spurn (exact location unknown) on an unrecorded date (EGB). This is the first and
only record for the Peninsula. Indeed, there is only one other county record (Armholme
in 1902). The species is afforded Notable A status, being thought to occur in 30 or fewer
10km squares of the National Grid.

Tachinus signatus Gravenhorst. Specimens from the Point on 21/7/63 (RCW) add to the
known distribution. All previous records were from the Warren northwards.

Diglotta mersa (Haliday). During the years of the initial survey the species was located
under stones below high-water mark, where it was particularly common near the salt
marsh at ‘Wire Dump’. Seven specimens found under stones below high-water mark
(exact location unknown) on 22/7/63 (RCW) constitute the only record since this time.
Spurn is the only known station for this species in Yorkshire.

Phytosus balticus Kraatz. A record of specimens under tidal refuse on the shore (exact
location unknown) on 23/7/63 (RCW) is the first encounter since occasional specimens
were located under seaweed, etc. on the Humber foreshore (exact locations unknown)
during the years of the initial survey.

Arena tabida (Kiesen wetter). Specimens located in 7/63 were said to have been taken in a
restricted area not previously worked owing to military occupation (WOS). It is now
known that this area was at the Point, the species being found on the sandy beaches
where it occurred under driftwood etc. (RCW pers. comm.). This is the only Yorkshire
record of what is a widely distributed but very local coastal species.

Geostiba circellaris (Gravenhorst). The only records were of occasional specimens located
in the Phragmites marsh and along the ‘Canal’. The species was encountered at the end
of 7/63 but, unfortunately, no locality or collecting details are available (RCW).

Atheta fungi (Gravenhorst). During the years of the initial survey the species was described
as the commonest and most widespread Staphylinid on the Peninsula, occurring
practically anywhere. Two specimens found under decaying rhubarb leaves at the side of
the Annexe on 16/9/96 (MLD) constitute the fourth record since this time. The only
localities to have yielded recent records are the Warren, the Humber shore at the Warren
and ‘Clubley’s Field’.

Atheta celata (Erichson). A single male found under decaying rhubarb leaves at the side of
the Annexe on 16/9/96 (MLD) was the first record for the Peninsula.

Atheta triangulum (Kraatz). Specimens located at Chalk Bank on 29/6/91 (RJM) constitute
the second record since the initial survey. The only previous records were of occasional
specimens from tidal refuse along the Humber shore (exact location unknown) and from
grass cuttings outside Warren Cottage on 22/6/90.

Halobrecta flavipes Thomson. A single male was located under tide line refuse on the
Humber shore at the Warren on 16/9/96 (MLD det. CJ). This is the first record since the
1947-1953 period when the species was described as being common and widespread
under seaweed and tidal debris on the Humber foreshore (exact locations unknown).

Oxypoda umbrata (Gyllenhal). A single found in the Point dunes on 23/7/63 (RCW) adds
to the known distribution. The only previous records were from reed debris in the
Phragmites marsh on 23/7/48 and in a wet place on the sea cliffs (exact location
unknown) on 12/7/52.

Aleochara binotata Kraatz. It is now known that the single female taken in dog dung
among sand dunes on 23/7/63, originally published as from an unknown location, was
from the Point dunes (RCW pers. comm.).

Aleochara bipustulata (Linnaeus). Past records from most areas along the Peninsula were
questioned in light of recent doubt concerning the British species (Owen, 1990) and the
lack of any voucher specimens. A taxonomic revision by Welch (1997) now allows a
better understanding of this species complex. Examination of RCW’s extant specimens
has revealed the following records: two were found under seaweed (exact location
unknown) on 21/7/63; specimens were located under a dead porpoise Phocoena
phocoena in the ‘marsh meadow’ on 21 and 23/7/63 whilst on the last mentioned date 25
were found in the Point dunes (17 in dog dung and 8 in a dead rabbit Oryctolagus

The Beetles of Spurn Peninsula: an Update

75

cuniculus). The species can, therefore, be reinstated as a Spurn species.

Aleochara cuniculorum Kraatz. Specimens from a carrion-baited pitfall trap in a rabbit
Oryctolagus cuniculus burrow (exact location unknown) on 23 and 24/7/63 (RCW)
constitute the only records since the initial survey. There are only five other county
records.

Aleochara lanuginosa (Gravenhorst). Four specimens (three in a dead rabbit Oryctolagus
cuniculus , the other in dog dung) in the Point dunes on 22/7/63 (RCW) add to the known
distribution. The only previous records were from areas north of the Warren.

Aleochara obscurella (Gravenhorst) = ( Emplenota alarum Fauvel). The species was said to
be common and generally distributed in and under seaweed etc. (exact locations
unknown) during the years of the initial survey. Two females under seaweed at Chalk
Bank on 22/7/63 (RCW) and a single from the Humber shore at the Warren on 16/9/96
(MLD) were only the third and fourth records since this time, the others being from the
Humber shore at the Warren on 13/9/90 and the Humber shore near ‘Black Hut’ on
18/9/94.

Rybaxis longicornis (Leach). A single specimen from Chalk Bank on 29/6/91 (RJM) was
the second record, the other being from the Phragmites marsh on 23/7/48. It is
interesting to note that the species is still extant on the Peninsula as Denton (1995)
suggests that the destruction of the Phragmites bed by coastal erosion will have caused
the species’ demise.

Geotrupes spiniger (Marsham). A single found dead on the road just south of the Warren
on 15/9/96 (MLD) was the third record. The others were from the light trap at the
Warren on 25/9/93 and horse dung on the roadside near ‘Canal Scrape’ hide on 24/7/94.

Geotrupes stercorarius (Linnaeus). The only records were from the Point (on a dead
porpoise Phocoena phocoena ) on 5/6/50, the Phragmites marsh on 1 1/6/50 and the
Warren (in the light trap) on 15/9/93. The species was encountered at the end of 7/63
but, unfortunately, no locality or collecting details are available (RCW).

Aegialia arenaria (Fabricius). Encountered abundantly in a number of areas during the
summer months of 1947-1953. A single from a dead gull Larus spp. on the seashore
(exact location unknown) on 4/5/74 (MJS det. MLD) was the sixth record since this
time, the others being from scattered locations along the Peninsula.

Aphodius fimetarius (Linnaeus). A record of this species at the end of 7/63 (RCW) was
only the second. Unfortunately, however, no locality or collecting details are available.
The previous record was of specimens from cow dung in the ‘marsh meadow’ on
22/7/48.

Aphodius foetens (Fabricius). The only record was of examples found in straw refuse in the
‘marsh meadow’ on 27/7/48. The species was located at the end of 7/63 but,
unfortunately, no locality or collecting details are available (RCW).

Aphodius ictericus (Laicharting). Following the finding of this species in 1914 (exact
location unknown), there were no other records until the end of 7/63. Unfortunately,
however, no locality or collecting details are available (RCW).

Aphodius rufus (Moll). A record of this species at the end of 7/63 was only the third.
Unfortunately, however, no locality or collecting details are available (RCW).
Additionally, four specimens were located in a light trap in the field adjacent to Kilnsea
Church during 8/96 (PAC). The only previous records were from cow dung in the ‘marsh
meadow’ on 22/7/48 and in a portable light trap near the Lighthouse on 20/8/94. The
records from near the Church are, technically speaking, 20 metres to the north of the
recording area.

Phyllopertha horticola (Linnaeus). There is a record on the YNU database of this species
occurring at Spurn (exact location unknown) in 1903 (TS). This is the first and only
record.

Elodes marginata (Fabricius). Specimens from an unknown location in 5/28 (recorder
unknown) constitutes the first and only record.

Agriotes acuminatus Stephens. The record from an unknown location in 5/28 (WJF)

76

The Beetles of Spurn Peninsula: an Update

predates the only published record of a single in ‘Clubley’s Field’ on 31/5/92.

Anobium punctatum (Degeer). Formerly recorded from the Warren area and the ‘Blue
Bell’. With the exception of many dead specimens located in a sycamore Acer
pseudoplantanus in the Warren garden in 6/50 all others were found under synanthropic
conditions. The species was found in profusion in 1976 when the lifeboat cottages (just
north of the entrance to the Point) were being demolished (BRS). This record therefore
adds to the known distribution. Freshly dead specimens found in Warren Cottage and the
Ringing Laboratory at the Warren on 20/9/96 (MLD) confirm the species’ continued
presence.

Necrobia violacea (Linnaeus). A single located on an old bone on the coast (exact location
unknown) on 21/7/63 (RCW) was the first record since examples were found in
carcasses along the Humber foreshore (exact locations unknown) on 17/7/48 and 4, 5
and 7/6/50.

Epuraea aestiva (Linnaeus). A male found in a pitfall trap in a rabbit Oryctolagus
cuniculus burrow (exact location unknown) on 23/7/63 (RCW) was the first record since
specimens were located in the ‘marsh meadow’ and the Warren area during the years of
the initial survey.

Cryptophagus dentatus (Herbst). Male specimens from Chalk Bank on 29/6/91 (RJM)
constitute the second record, the other being of a single male found under old straw in
‘Clubley’s Field’ on 27/12/82.

Cryptophagus distinguendus Sturm. Examples from an unknown location on 25/6/91
(RJM) constitute the second record. The other concerned a single from vole droppings at
the Warren on 19/7/48.

Cryptophagus setulosus Sturm. A male and female in a pitfall trap in a rabbit Oryctolagus
cuniculus burrow (exact location unknown) on 23/7/63 (RCW) constitutes the second
record, the other being of five specimens in the nest of the bee Bombus agrorum at the
Warren on 8/6/50.

Micrambe lindbergorum (Bruce). This species was described as new for Britain when
singles were located at the Warren on 15/8/49 and in 7/53 (see Coombs & Woodroffe,
1955). Additionally, a single male was found under drift refuse (exact location unknown)
on 22/7/63 (RCW). There are no other Yorkshire records but the species has recently
been recorded from Northampton and Inverness & Nairn.

Atomaria berolinensis Kraatz. Examples located near the Lighthouse on 29/6/91 (RJM)
constitute the first and only record for the Peninsula.

Atomaria rhenana Kraatz. Specimens from Chalk Bank on 29/6/91 (RJM) add to the
known distribution. The species had previously only been encountered north of the
Warren. Spurn and Fisherman’s Channel are the only known stations for this species in
Yorkshire; this being the species’ northern limit in the British Isles (Johnson, 1993).

Atomaria rubella Heer. A single located under decaying rhubarb leaves at the side of the
Annexe on 16/9/96 was the third record (MLD det. CJ). The others were from an
unrecorded area on 10/6/50 and from recently cut vegetation outside Warren Cottage on
3/5/93.

Atomaria testacea Stephens = ( Atomaria ruficornis (Marsham)). Specimens from Chalk
Bank and near the Lighthouse on 29/6/91 (both RJM) constitute the first records since
the initial survey and add to the known distribution. The previous records were from the
Warren, the Phragmites marsh and the ‘marsh meadow’ (all in 6/50).

Ephistemus globulus (Paykull). A single found under decaying rhubarb leaves at the side of
the Annexe on 16/9/96 (MLD) was the sixth record (third since the initial survey). The
others were from the Phragmites marsh, the ‘marsh meadow’, the Warren and the
Humber shore at the Warren.

Phalacrus fimetarius (Fabricius). Examples found at Chalk Bank and near the Lighthouse
on 29/6/91 (both RJM) constitute the first records since the initial survey. During these
years (1947-1953) the species was located at a number of localities along the Peninsula
where it was said to be present in June and July and common in August.

77

The Beetles of Spurn Peninsula: an Update

Coccinella undecimpunctata Linnaeus. Previously encountered in the salt marsh at ‘Wire
Dump’, the Point, ‘Scrape Field’, ‘Canal Scrape’ and the Warren. A single on the wall of
Warren Cottage on 16/9/96 (MLD) was only the fourth record since the initial survey.

Aridius bifasciatus (Reitter). This introduced species has now been located at Chalk Bank
and all areas between the Warren and the northern limit of the recording area. A record
from an unknown locality at the end of 7/63 (RCW) predates the earliest published
record.

Corticaria punctulata Marsham. Specimens from an unrecorded location in 5/28 (recorder
unknown) constitute the first and only record for the Peninsula.

Cis fagi Waltl. There is a record on the YNU database of this species occurring at Spurn
(exact location unknown) on an unrecorded date. This is a woodland species which is
found in bracket fungi and is unlikely to have ever occurred at Spurn. As no voucher
specimens are available for confirmation the species has not been admitted to the Spurn
List.

Phylan gibbus (Fabricius). Previously encountered at the Warren, in the salt marsh at ‘Wire
Dump’, at the ‘Narrow Neck’, between the ‘Narrow Neck’ and ‘Black Hut’ and the
marram areas along the Humber foreshore and seashore (exact locations unknown). A
single from just north of the Lighthouse on 14/4/95 (PAC) was only the third record
since the initial survey.

Phaleria cadaverina (Fabricius). A single from a dead gull Larus spp. on the seashore
(exact location unknown) on 4/5/74 (MJS det. MLD) was the fifth record. The others
(also from unknown locations) were recorded in 7/48, 6/50, 8/79 and 7/89.

Crypticus quisquilius (Linnaeus). During the years of the initial survey the species was
located in most areas along the Peninsula, where it was said to be abundant in June,
common in July but scarce in August. Several specimens found on open ground to the
north of the Lighthouse on 8/6/96 (PAC) constitute the fourth recent record. The others
being from the Warren, the Humber shore at the ‘Narrow Neck’ and the Humber shore
between the ‘Narrow Neck’ and ‘Black Hut’.

Vincenzellus ruficollis (Panzer). The record from an unknown location in 5/28 (recorder
unknown) predates the only published record of a single found under straw refuse in the
‘marsh meadow’ on 22/7/48.

Rhinosimus planirostris (Fabricius). A single found in a grass pile outside Warren Cottage
on 19/9/96 (MLD) constitutes the first record for the Peninsula.

Notoxus monoceros Muller. Encountered abundantly along the Humber foreshore and
seashore (exact locations unknown) during the summer months of the initial survey. A
single which alighted on the window of a vehicle parked just to the north of the Light-
house on 8/6/96 (PAC) was the fourth recent record, the others being from an unrecorded
area on the Humber foreshore. Chalk Bank and on the sea shore near the Point.

Bruchus loti Paykull. A single swept from low herbage near the ‘Canal’ on 17/6/95 (PAC)
was the second record for the Peninsula, the other being from the Phragmites marsh on
13/8/66.

Phaedon tumidulus (Germar). Seven specimens found in sand hollows at the entrance to
the Point on 6/5/96 (PAC) constitutes the third record, the others being from the Point
dunes on 16/4/94 and to the north of the Lighthouse on 1 1/3/95.

Longitarsus membranaceus (Degeer). Examples from an unknown location on an
unrecorded date (EGB) constitute the first and only record for the Peninsula.

Sphaeroderma rubidum (Graells). Specimens from an unknown location in 1949 (WDH)
constitutes the first and only record for the Peninsula.

Sphaeroderma testaceum (Fabricius). A single swept from low herbage along the cliff edge
in ‘Clubley’s Field’ on 13/8/94 (PAC) was the fifth record (the second modern day). The
others were from the Warren on 18/7/48, along the Main Ridge on 20 and 22/7/48 and
Chalk Bank on 30/7/94.

Psylliodes marcida (Illiger). Eight specimens found on Cakile maritima at the Point on
22/7/63 (RCW) were the first to be recorded since the years of the initial survey. During

78 The Beetles of Spurn Peninsula: an Update

these years the species was said to be present in June, common in July but rare in
August.

Cassida rubiginosa Muller. Previously encountered in the salt marsh at ‘Wire Dump’, at
the Warren, in ‘Clubley’s Field’ and in the marram along the Humber shore near the
Warren (exact location unknown). A single found in the Annexe on 7/6/96 (BRS det.
MLD) was only the third record since the initial survey.

Rhynchites germanicus Herbst. The record from an unknown location in 5/28 (recorder
unknown) predates the only published records from the Warren on 7/6/50 and ‘Clubley’s
Field’ on 19/6/90.

Exapion ulicis Forster. The only previous records were from the Warren on 1/5/93 and the
Point on 14/5/94. Eight specimens were found on gorse Ulex spp. at the Point on 30/4/95
and a few were located in the same area on 5/5/96 (both PAC).

Protapion apricans Herbst. A single female in a grass tussock (exact location unknown) on
21/7/63 (RCW) was the sixth record (the second since the 1947-1953 survey). The others
were from the ‘marsh meadow’, the Phragmites marsh, the Warren and the ‘Scrape
Field'.

Protapion as simile Kirby. A single swept from low herbage near the ‘Canal’ on 17/6/95
was the first record for the Peninsula (PAC det. MLD).

Protapion ononicola Bach. The record from an unknown location in 1898 (EGB) predates
the only published records from ‘Wire Dump’ on 11/6/50 and ‘Clubley’s Field’ on
18/6/90.

Barynotus obscurus (Fabricius). A single in the Point dunes on 23/7/63 (RCW) adds to the
known distribution. The species had previously only been encountered on the ‘Canal
Zone’ (19/6/47 and 31/7/94) and the Warren area (30/5/92).

Hypera dauci (Olivier). Specimens from an unrecorded location in 1919 (GBW)
constitute the first and only record for the Peninsula. The species is afforded Notable
B status, being thought to occur in between 31 and 100 10km squares of the National
Grid.

Hypera nigricornis (Fabricius). A single on Ononis repens in an unrecorded area on
20/7/63 (RCW) was the fourth record (the third since the initial survey). The others were
from the salt marsh at ‘Wire Dump’, the Phragmites marsh and an unrecorded location.

Ty chius picirostris (Fabricius). Examples from an unrecorded location in 1946 (WDH)
constitute the first and only record for the Peninsula.

Mecinus py raster (Herbst). The record from an unknown location in 5/28 (WJF) predates
the only published record from the ‘marsh meadow’ on 17/6/47.

References

Anderson, R. and Luff, M. L. (1994). Calathus cinctus Motschulsky, a species of the
Calathus melanocephalus/mollis complex (Col., Carabidae) in the British Isles.
Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine 130: 131-135.

Coombs, C. W. and Woodroffe G. E. (1955). A revision of the British species of
Cryptophagus (Herbst) (Coleoptera; Cryptophagidae). Transactions of the Royal
Entomological Society of London 106: 237-282.

Cooter, J. (1996). Annotated keys to the British Leiodinae (Col., Leiodidae).
Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine 132: 205-272.

Denton, M. L. (1995). The Beetles of Spurn Peninsula. Yorkshire Museum.

Johnson, C. (1990). The feather-wing beetles of Yorkshire (Coleoptera: Ptiliidae).
Naturalist 115: 57-71.

Johnson, C. (1993). Provisional Atlas of the Cryptophagidae-Atomariinae ( Coleoptera ) of
Britain and Ireland. Biological Records Centre, Huntingdon.

Luff, M. L. (1990). Pterostichus rhaeticus Heer (Col., Carabidae), A British species
previously confused with P. nigrita (Paykull). Entomologist’ s Monthly Magazine 126:
245-249.

Owen, J. A. (1990). Notes on three species of Aleochara (s.g. Coprochara Mulsant & Rey)

The Vegetation of Spurn (1946-1996) 79

(Col., Staphylinidae) including two species new to Britain. Entomologist’s Rec. J. Var.
102: 227-232.

Pope, R. D. (1977). A Check List of British Insects, Part 3: Coleoptera and Strepsiptera.

2nd. edition. Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects 11 (3): 1-105.

Welch, R. C. (1997). The British species of the genus Aleochara Gravenhorst
(Staphylinidae). Coleopterist 6(1): 1-45.

THE VEGETATION OF SPURN (1946-1996)

EVA CRACKLES

143 Holmgarth Drive, Bellfield Avenue, Hull, East Yorks. HU8 9DX

Spurn fascinates. It is a finger of land between the River Humber and the North Sea, owing
its existence to the activity of Ammophila arenaria (L.) Link (Marram) which binds the
sand. Lesser roles in binding sand are performed by Leymus arenarius (L.) Hochst. (Lyme-
grass), originally found mainly on the river-side, and by Elytrigia juncea (L.) Nevski (Sand
Couch). Carex arenaria L. (Sand Sedge) plays a similar part in holding the surface sands.
The hybrid Elytrigia atherica x E. juncea occurs here and there on the peninsula.

I first visited Spurn as a bird-watcher in 1946, but there was ample opportunity to
observe the main vegetational features. The most conspicuous and characteristic species of
Spurn are Eryngium maritimum L. (Sea-holly), still abundant at the narrow-neck, and
Calystegia soldanella (L.) R. Br (Sea Bindweed) in dunes in the same area and elsewhere.

In the Point Camp was Inula conyzae (Griess.) Meikle (Ploughman’ s-spikenard) and
Diplotaxis tenuifolia (L.) DC. (Perennial Wall-rocket), both in quantity. Hippophae
rhamnoides L. (Sea-buckthorn) dominated the ridge down the east side of the peninsula
and the alien Claytonia perfoliata (Donn) ex Willd. (Springbeauty) was widely distributed
and abundant as now. Onosis sp. (Restharrow) in quantity by the roadside and along the
railway added colour to the scene. Daucus carota L. (Wild Carrot) too was also widely
distributed.

On the river-side of the lifeboat cottages, south of the lighthouse, could be found
maritime species including Seriphidium maritimum (L.) Polj. (Sea Wormwood), Aster
tripolium L. (Sea Aster), Catapodium marinum (L.) C. E. Hubb. (Sea Fern-grass),
Plantago maritima L. (Sea Plantain) and the alien Lobularia maritima (L.) Des. (Sweet
Alison). This area is now a car park.

The inlet near the chalk bank and the adjacent salt-marsh was dominated by Atriplex
portulacoides L. (Sea-purslane). Other salt-marsh species present in the chalk bank area
were Glaux maritima L. (Sea-milkwort), Limonium vulgare Miller (Common Sea-
lavender), Sea Plantain and Suaeda maritima (L.) Dumort. (Common Annual Sea-blite).

Tom Dargie of Hull University found Parapholis incurva (L.) C. E. Hubb. (Curved
Hard-grass) in 1970 in a depression near the Chalk Bank, a special area which is
occasionally inundated with salt-water. Sea Fern-grass was also present and Sagina
maritima G. Don (Sea Pearlwort) occurred in great quantity. Today the area seems to be
drying out and the habitat threatened, Curved Hard-grass and Sea Fern-grass were seen in
the locality in 1996, but not Sea Pearlwort.

In 1946, Spurn Bay was an extensive area of mud at low tide, with just an occasional
emergent shoot of Spartina anglica C. E. Hubb. (Common Cord-grass). Islands of
Common Cord-grass soon appeared and by 1958 had linked up to form a continuous belt
which significantly slowed up the tidal ebb and flow. By 1978 a substantial salt-marsh had
built up. Large areas were dominated by Puccinellia maritima (Hudson) Pari. (Common
Saltmarsh-grass) and Sea Aster which had replaced much of the Cord-grass. At the top of
the salt-marsh a belt of Annual Sea-blite and Salicornia europaea L. (Glasswort) occurred

Naturalist 122 (1997)

80

The Vegetation of Spurn (1946-1996)

by this time. Gradually other species came in at the top of the saltmarsh: Cochlearia
officinalis L. (Common Scurvygrass), C. anglica L. (English Scurvygrass), Juncus gerardii
Lois. (Saltmarsh Rush), Parapholis strigosa (Dumort.) C. E. Hubb. (Hard-grass), Sea
Plantain, Spergularia media (L.) C. Presl (Greater Sea-spurrey), S. marina (L.) Griseb.
(Lesser Sea-spurrey) and Triglochin maritimum L. (Sea Arrowgrass). Succession has
proceeded and recent photographs by John Cudworth show zones dominated by Sea-
purslane and Scurvygrass which have replaced the belts of Common Saltmarsh-grass and
Sea Aster.

Zostera angustifolia (Hornem.) Reichb. (Narrow-leaved Eelgrass) was recorded c. 55m
from the shore of the narrow neck (Pashby, 1977) while Z. noltii Hornem. (Dwarf Eelgrass)
occurred extensively above mid-tidal level on the Humber shore (Pashby, 1977). Salicornia
europaea L. (Common Glasswort) is common on the upper levels of the saltmarshes at
Spurn, with S. dolichostachya Moss (Long-spiked Glasswort) occurring throughout the
saltmarsh from upper to lower levels while S. fragilis P. Ball and Tutin (Yellow Glasswort)
occurs in the lower part of the saltmarsh (Fenton, 1977).

Originally the only species on the river shore for most of its length was Honckenya
peploides (L.) Ehrh. (Sea Sandwort), with Salsola kali L. (Prickly Saltwort) occurring
towards the south. By the time a saltmarsh had developed other species had invaded the
river shore, including Atriplex prostrata Boucher ex DC. (Spear-leaved Orache), A.
glabriuscula Edmondston (Babington’s Orache) and, rarely, Atriplex laciniata L. (Frosted
Orache).

In the 1950s there were extensive fixed dunes in the Warren supporting several
calcicoles. Brachypodium pinnatum (L.) P. Beauv. (Tor-grass) was dominant along the
banks of the railway, then still in use, with Blackstonia perfoliata (L.) Hudson (Yellow-
wort) frequent there. Vida tetrasperma (L.) Schreber (Smooth Tare) was frequent on the
bank by the Warren Cottage. Several spikes of Orchis mascula (L.) L. (Early-purple
Orchid) occurred in most years. One spike of Ophrys apifera Hudson (Bee Orchid)
occurred here in 1950 and two spikes of Orchis morio L. (Green-winged Orchid) in 1964.

South of the Warren was an area with Angelica sylvestris L. (Wild Angelica), Thalictrum
flavum L. (Meadow Rue) and Valeriana officinalis L. (Common Valerian) occurring in
some quantity.

The area of the dunes to the south of the Warren has long had some interesting aliens. A
continental form of Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop., var. incanum (Field Thistle) persisted here
for many years but has now been lost. Euphorbia x pseudovirgata (Schur) Soo) has long
been known here.

Two notable British species have occurred in this same area. In 1974, Ann Fritchley
discovered a fine spike of the beautiful Orchis simia Lam. (Monkey Orchid), its first
British occurrence north of the River Thames valley and one of only four British colonies
known at the time (Crackles, 1975a). The plant was artificially pollinated by me in 1975
and other plants subsequently using a stem of Elytrigia atherica (Link) Korguelen ex
Carreras Martinez (Sea Couch). Twenty-five plants occurred in 1981 including nine
flowering plants, 14 plants having flowered at some time. The area was inundated with salt-
water in the winter of 1982; no flowering spikes were produced in that year and no plants
have been seen since. In 1978 two patches of Poly podium interjectum Shivas (Intermediate
Polypody) were found at the edge of the dunes in the area. These plants were later lost by
the construction of a new section of road but more plants turned up in the dunes to the east
of the new road. This species had not previously been recorded in the East Riding of
Yorkshire.

There was an extensive bed of Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steudel (Common
Reed) to the east of Warren Cottage. In the drier parts of this area were Carex flacca
Schreber (Glaucous Sedge), Carex otrubae Podp. (False Fox-sedge), Cynosurus cristatus
L. (Crested Dog’s-tail), Leucanthemum vulgare Lam. (Ox-eye Daisy), Lotus corniculatus
L. (Common Bird’s-foot-trefoil) and Picris echioides L. (Bristly Ox-tongue). Potentilla
anserina L. (Silverweed) dominated part of the area.

The Vegetation of Spurn (1946-1996)

81

Just north of Warren Cottage was a brackish pond with Ranunculus baudotii Godron
(Brackish Water-crowfoot) and Ruppia maritima L. (Beaked Tassel-weed). There was a
freshwater pond with a fine colony of Alisma plantago-aquatica L. (Water Plantain).
Apium nodiflorum (L.) Lagasca (Fool’s Water-cress) was also present.

The fields to the north of the warren had a clay soil and in grassy fields such plants as
Silaum silaus (L.) Schinz & Thell. (Pepper Saxifrage) and Hordeum secalinum Schreber
(Meadow Barley) occurred, with Smooth Tare on drain banks.

Arable weeds recorded in Redvers Clubley’s cornfield were Anchusa arvensis (L.)
M. Bieb. (Bugloss), Anthemis cotula L. (Stinking Chamomile), Chenopodium album
L. (Fat-hen), Coronopus squamatus (Forsskal) Asch. (Swine-cress), Euphorbia helioscopia
L. (Sun Spurge), E. exigua L. (Dwarf Spurge), Fallopia convolvulus (L.) A. Love (Black-
bindweed), Fumaria officinalis L. (Common Fumitory), Geranium dissectum L. (Cut-
leaved Crane’s-bill), Gnaphalium uliginosum L. (Marsh Cudweed), Matricaria recutita L.
(Scented Mayweed), Odontites vernus (Bellardi) Dumort. (Red Bartsia), Persicaria
maculosa Gray (Redshank), P. lapathifolia (L.) Gray (Pale Persicaria), Ranunculus
sardous Crantz (Hairy Buttercup), Raphanus raphanistrum L. (Wild Radish), Sinapis
arvensis L. (Charlock), Silene noctiflora L. (Night-flowering Catchfly), Spergula arvenis L.
(Com Spurrey), Torilis nodosa (L.) Gaertn. (Knotted Hedge-parsley), Urtica urens L.
(Small Nettle), Veronica chamaedrys L. (Germander Speedwell), V. persica Poiret
(Common Field-speedwell) and Viola arvensis Murray (Field Pansy).

In June 1954 I spent a week at Spurn surveying the area for the Nature Conservancy
Council, as a result of which Spurn was declared a Site of Special Scientific Interest. I
spent most of the time examining the short turf which was a most important habitat,
occupying some four-fifths of the peninsula. I examined large areas [1] on both sides of the
road in the warren, [2] in front of and behind the warden’s house, [3] both south and north
of the chalk bank area, [4] near the lighthouse and [5] by the railway. The short turf on the
parade ground on the Point Camp was not examined at this time. In 1946, Trifolium
suffocatum L. (Suffocated Clover) and T. micranthum Viv. (Slender Clover) were found in
the Warren by Dr Sledge and Professor Good on the occasion of a Y.N.U. meeting.

The following is a selected list of species found in short turf in 1954. The figure
following each species gives the number of areas in which each species was found;
ab = abundant, c = common, fr = frequent, occ = occasional, r = rare, 1 = locally. Aira
praecox L. (Early Hair-grass) fr (4); Aphanes arvensis L. (Parsley-piert) occ to fr (4);
Arenaria serpyllifolia L. (Thyme-leaved Sandwort) occ to c (7); Carex caryophyllea
Latour. (Spring-sedge) occ (2); Cerastium diffusum Pers. (Sea Mouse-ear) occ to fr (5); C.
semidecandrurn L. (Little Mouse-ear) occ to c (4); C. glomeratum Thuill. (Sticky Mouse-
ear) occ to fr (4); Erodium cicutarium (L.) L’Her (Common Stork’s-bill) occ to c (7);
Erophila praecox (L.) DC. (Whitlowgrass) fr (5); Galium verum L. (Lady’s Bedstraw) occ
to ab (5); Geranium molle L. (Dove’s-foot Crane’s-bill) occ to 1 fr (3); Myosotis
ramosissima Rochel (Early Forget-me-not) occ to c (7); Plantago coronopus L. (Buck’s-
horn Plantain) occ to c (7); Sherardia arvensis L. (Field Madder) r to fr (4); Trifolium
dubium Srbth. (Lesser Trefoil) fr to c (5), T. striatum L. (Knotted Clover) fr to c (4),
Valerianella locusta (L.) Laterr. (Common Cornsalad) occ (2) and Vicia lathyroides L.
(Spring Vetch) r to fr (3).

With the advent of myxomatosis in 1954 and consequent absence or severe reduction of
rabbit grazing since that time, the vegetation of the peninsula has moved towards a climax,
with Sea Buckthorn predominating. Short turf areas have decreased drastically in extent
and have at times been maintained by treading and not by grazing. Inevitably species
characteristic of short turf have decreased greatly in frequency and some could be on the
verge of extinction.

I did not find Rough Clover ( Trifolium scabrum L.) in the 1950s. Less widely distributed
than Knotted Clover but very variable in quantity, it carpeted an area by the eastern side of
the road near the Warren Cottage in 1987. The scarce British plant Suffocated Clover,
found in some quantity on the parade ground in the point camp in 1970, is still there; it has

82 The Vegetation of Spurn (1946-1996)

turned up in the Warren from time to time, particularly when there has been soil
disturbance.

In recent years sheep have been introduced onto the chalk bank area in the hope of
retrieving short turf plant associations. Some short turf species have indeed recovered
there, including Spring Vetch, Sea Mouse-ear and Early Forget-me-not. The sheep are
wintered in the warren, where an electric fence has been erected; as a result, vegetation
within the fence grows long in the summer. Most short turf species occur at the edge of
such vegetation abutting concrete bases of former buildings.

Sea Mouse-ear occurs in quantity at the side of paths through the dunes in an area just to
the north of the lighthouse. Spring-sedge has not been reported in recent years. At the
present time, the best area of short turf is in the parade ground in the Point Camp.

An important plant of disturbed sand is Phleum arenarium L. (Sand Cat’s-tail) in its only
East Riding locality. It has often been difficult to find this species over the years and it has
usually been in small quantity. At present it is plentiful under a bank of Sea Bindweed and
in the general area of the car park just north of the lighthouse. Other species of disturbed
sand occurring at Spurn are Aira caryophyllea L. (Silver Hair-grass), Arenaria serpyllifolia
subsp. leptoclados (Reichb.) Nyman (Slender Sandwort) and Catapodium rigidum (L.)
C. E. Hubb. (Fern-grass). Cakile maritima Scop. (Sea Rocket) is a characteristic plant of
disturbed sand occurring in different quantity and position each year.

After the severe flooding of 1953, a low defence bank was created, taking material from
the adjacent land to produce a virgin bank and canal known as Kilnsea Canal. A fascinating
process of colonisation followed. Plants found on the bank included Trifolium fragiferum
L. (Strawberry Clover) and Lotus glaber Miller (Narrow-leaved Bird’s-foot Trefoil). Both
are still to be found. In the following year most common saltmarsh species occurred along
the canal. Carex extensa Gooden. (Long-bracted Sedge), only previously known in the
Kilnsea Beacon area in small quantity appeared in great quantity, as did Juncus maritmus
Lam. (Sea Rush), previously recorded in only one locality in the East Riding i.e. just south
of Bridlington, in the last century.

Another locally uncommon species occurring by the canal is Carex distans L. (Distant
Sedge). Long-bracted Sedge and Sea Rush are to be found at the head of the canal, as well
as a number of salt-marsh species including Sea-milkwort, Hard-grass, Sea Plantain, Lesser
Sea-spurrey, Greater Sea-spurrey and Sea Arrowgrass. On the drier part of the canal head
are False Fox-sedge, Centaurium erythraea Rafn (Common Centaury), Bristly Oxtongue
and Senecio erucifolius L. (Hoary Ragwort). Strawberry Clover occurs in the damper
places. A single plant of Bee Orchid occurred in the area in 1996.

Aliens have been a feature of Spurn over the years. Those species occurring most
frequently and in the greatest quantity are Springbeauty, Lepidium draba L. (Hoary Cress),
Sisymbrium altissimum L (Tall Rocket) and S. orientate L. (Eastern Rocket). There have
recently been reports of an Amsinckia in a bird trap in the Point Camp. I believe this to be
Amsinckia micrantha Suksd. which is widespread in the East Riding. Uncommon aliens
recorded included Solanum sarachoides Sendtner (Green Nightshade) and Melilotus
indicus (L.) All. (Small Melilot).

The peninsula has been subject to significant flooding from time to time. In 1978, there
was severe flooding with river water flooding through at the Chalk Bank. In the following
summer a single fine plant of Glaucium flavum Crantz (Yellow Horned-poppy) occurred on
the west side of the road to the north. In addition, two patches of Silene uniflora Roth (Sea
Campion) appeared at the edges of the dunes on the river side, the first time either species
had been recorded for the Yorkshire coast since the 18th century.

The winter’s flooding also upset the distribution of many species. Thus species usually
found on the shore became permanently established on the peninsula. Prickly Saltwort,
formerly only found on the Humber shore, turned up in quantity on both sides of the road
near where the Yellow Horned-poppy occurred. Eventually there were three Yellow
Horned-poppy plants; all were eventually lost, but another turned up on the opposite side of
the road. By this time there had been much loss of land, particularly in the warren and to

83

The Current Status of The Water Vole Arvicola terrestris in The Peak District

the south of it, most notably in 1978 at the back of Warren Cottage. The warden’s garden
was under salt water for some time. A number of species were introduced with imported
soil, including Hyoscyamus niger L. (Henbane), Sun Spurge, Euphorbia peplus L. (Petty
Spurge), Lamium amplexicaule L. (Henbit Dead-nettle), L. hybridum Villars (Cut-leaved
Dead-nettle) and Small Nettle.

As a result of repeated flooding, brackish water habitats increased north of Warren
Cottage. Frequent pools on the coastal strip contained Beaked Tasselweed and Juncus
ambiguus Guss was found on adjacent marshy ground in 1986.

The vegetation has changed greatly in the course of time (Crackles, 1975, 1986). Of the
304 species listed between 1946 and 1975 a number have inevitably been lost because of
habitat loss. However, 55 species have been recorded since 1975. In some cases this is due
to improved knowledge. Some of the additional species have been mentioned in the text.
Other species of interest are Barbarea stricta Andrz. (Small-flowered Winter-cress) and
Coronopus didymus (L.) Smith (Lesser Swine Cress). In 1978 a bank of clay was imported
from the Easington gas terminal. Interestingly, a plant of Hypericum x desetangsii Lamotte
(Des Etangs’ St John’s-wort) occurred on the bank but soon disappeared. An examination
of the Rest Harrows showed that the hybrid Ononis spinosa x O. repens occurred as well as
O. repens L. but no O. spinsoa L. was found.

More recently, Peter Cook has found Stellaria pallida (Dumort.) Pire (Lesser Chickweed)
on the dunes and the rare coastal form of Common Couch ( Elytrigia repens (L.) Desv. ex
Nevski subsp. arenosa (Spenner) A. Love). More species will no doubt follow.

References

Crackles, F. E. (1975). The flowering plants of Spurn Point. Naturalist 101: 59-65.

Crackles, F. E. (1975a). The Monkey Orchid in Yorkshire. Naturalist 101: 25-26.

Crackles, F. E. (1986). The flowering plants of Spurn Point. 10 pp. [Reprinted separately,
and updated.]

Crackles, F. E. (1986). Juncus ambiguus Guss. ( J . ranarius Song. & Perr.) in Yorkshire
Naturalist 112: 23.

Fenton, K. (1977). Salicornia at Spurn. Naturalist 103: 33-34.

Fenton, K. (1978) On the occurrence of Zostera angustifolia (Hornem.) Rchb. in the
Humber. Naturalist 104: 156.

Pashby, B. S. (1977). Brent Geese and Zostera at Spurn. Naturalist 103: 85-90.

THE CURRENT STATUS OF THE WATER VOLE
ARVICOLA TERRESTRIS IN THE PEAK DISTRICT

D. W. YALDEN

School of Biological Sciences, 3.239 Stopford Building,

Victoria University of Manchester Ml 3 9PL

The Water Vole is currently declining rapidly from its former status as a common and well
distributed species. It has disappeared from many of its former sites, and sufficiently
seriously and rapidly to have recently been given legal protection by its addition to
Schedule 5 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981. This prevents its deliberate killing,
disturbance or sale, dead or alive, but there is little evidence that direct human persecution
is a real problem. Either loss of habitat or predation by the American Mink Mustela vison
are regarded as the main cause of its decline (Strachan & Jefferies, 1993).

In the Peak District, it was such a familiar sight on the limestone rivers, in particular, that
it was seriously under-recorded. For instance, during surveys of the Rivers Dove and
Manifold during 1977-79 for Common Sandpipers Actitis hypoleucos (Holland et al.,

Naturalist 122 (1997)

84 The Current Status of The Water Vole Arvicola terrestris in The Peak District

1982), signs of Water Vole were regularly seen but rarely recorded, though sightings of the
animals themselves always were recorded.

During 1990, Water Voles were recorded on 10 occasions along the inflow stream at
Combs Reservoir (SK0379), which became my local site that year following a move of
house from Manchester. The following year, however, there were only two sightings, and
none since. During surveys of the Rivers Ashop and Alport for colour-ringed Common
Sandpipers, conducted weekly from late April to mid- July each year (Holland & Yalden
1991, 1994), sightings were never numerous, but were never-the-less regularly made each
year up to 1993; in 1994 none was seen (nor since). These local declines prompted a
deliberate survey of a number of sites during 1994, mostly in August and September. This
note presents the results; the species has indeed declined locally.

Methods

Records from 1969 to 1993 were only accumulated accidentally and sporadically. Signs, in
particular, were then often not recorded. Never-the-less, past sites were prime targets for
re-examination. In 1994, sections of likely waterway were checked for signs: burrows and
feeding ‘lawns’, footprints in mud, characteristic latrines, and signs of chewed J uncus and
other plants. Signs are both distinctive for the species and a reliable method for survey
(Strachan & Jefferies, 1993). Surveying during late summer meant that exposed mud was
available for checking for footprints, and latrines were unlikely to have been erased by
floodwaters. Direct sightings, or the characteristic ‘plop’ of a diving Water Vole, were a
bonus. A few records, past and present, came from analysis of pellets of predators,
particularly Tawny Owls Strix aluco.

Results

The records accumulated from 1969-1992 (Fig. 1) provide a scatter of spots across the
Peak District, 33 sightings, only 7 sign-only records, and 4 records of skulls in predator
pellets. About half (21 of 44 records) come from the rivers of the White Peak (Dove, Wye,
Bradboume Brook). The cluster of records in the central Dark Peak indicates the Common
Sandpiper study area.

The survey of 1994 covered approximately 41.75km of river and canal bank in 34
stretches. Only 10 stretches, about 8.3km in total length, were positive. Signs of Water
Vole were found at 11 sites, only 2 Water Voles were seen, and one skull was found in a
Tawny Owl pellet (Fig. 2). At 39 sites, no signs were recorded, despite that rivers were
mostly surveyed wearing waders. Many of these negative records came from places where
Water Voles had been seen, opportunistically, on previous occasions, implying that they
had been suitable habitat, and perhaps are still.

Discussion

The most critical recent factor causing a decline of Water Voles is certainly predation by
Mink. Water Voles being tracked with radio-collars have been taken by Mink before the
researcher’s eyes (Woodroffe et al., 1990). Their very recent declines in the Thames basin
and more locally in the River Amber catchment, just east of the Peak District, have
coincided very precisely with the spread of the Mink through those ranges (Strachan et al.,
1997). However, it is not very obvious that this is a major factor within the Peak District.
Neither sightings nor signs of Mink were evident during this survey, except for one scat at
one marginal site, and in the Dark Peak there are sufficient gamekeepers to be certain that
no Mink are established. They have been present on the River Dane at least since 1984, but
again the evidence for this is primarily in the form of corpses displayed by the water bailiff.

An equally serious but less evident factor affecting the Water Vole is the heavy grazing
of bankside vegetation. This too has become more severe in recent years, but because it is a
less obvious change than the arrival of a new predator, it is easily overlooked. Sheep
numbers trebled in the Dark Peak between the 1930 agricultural census and 1976 (Yalden,
1981), and they have increased further since then, from 78,000 to 118,000 in 1993

The Current Status of The Water Vole Arvicola terrestris in The Peak District 85

FIGURE 1

Recorded distribution of Water Voles Arvicola terrestris in and around the Peak District
National Park (whose boundary is indicated by the solid line) during 1969-1992.

86

The Current Status of The Water Vole Arvicola terrestris in The Peak District

National Park (whose boundary is indicated by the solid line) during 1994.

87

The Current Status of The Water Vole Arvicola terrestris in The Peak District

(Anderson et al., 1997). Both beef and dairy cattle are also more numerous, the latter
primarily in the White Peak. Two sites in particular suggest that this is the major factor that
has militated against the species locally. At the western end of the Common Sandpiper
study area, a large area of Juncus beside the River Ashop at Upperhouse Farm (SKI 189)
was a regular site for signs of Water Voles. A change of tenancy and a greater emphasis on
grazing beef cattle in that field since 1990 has resulted in the deliberate elimination of most
of the Juncus by manuring and enforced grazing. Water Vole signs have not been recorded
there since 1989. In Dovedale, south of Milldale, the appearance of signs of Water Vole as
one surveys southwards coincides with the National Trust fence against cattle to the north.
The banks further south have a good fringe of marginal plants, including Iris. The two sites
where Water Voles were seen in 1994 (Beresford Dale, Darley Dale) are also sites where
one bank, at least, is ungrazed. Stachan et al. (1997) have argued that it is not Mink
predation by itself that has caused the catastrophic decline of the Water Vole in Britain, but
the combination of that additional predation with the extremely narrow habitat fringe that is
all that remains to the Water Vole in intensively farmed landscapes. This precisely matches
the current situation in the Peak District. It also matches the historical evidence of a long-
term decline in the abundance of the Water Vole which has continued for 2,000 years or
more. Both nationally and locally, Water Voles were extremely abundant in archaeological
sites of Mesolithic to Bronze Age times; 54.7% of the small mammal fauna at Neolithic
Dowel Cave, 81.1% at Bronze Age Wigber Low, 34.6% at Bronze Age Fox Hole, 40% at
Iron Age Dowel Cave (Maltby 1983, Yalden 1992). In Roman times, it seems to have
declined to around 5% of the fauna (Ossom’s Eyrie Cave in the Manifold Valley;
Bramwell et al., 1990). This matches the spread of agriculture to these upland areas, as
does its further decline.

To add to the species’ difficulties, the aquatic plants on which, in part, it feeds are
susceptible to water pollution; there are at least two Peak District sites, not readily
explained by changes in grazing pressure, where this seems to be the cause of decline or
absence. The River Wye downstream from Buxton has been subject to several well-
documented cases of acute pollution (in one, all fish were killed, and restocking has only
replaced the Brown Trout Salmo trutta, not the Grayling Thymallus thymallus or Crayfish
Austropotamobius fluviatilis ). It also suffers from chronic pollution, from Buxton sewage
works and from run-off from the adjacent A. 6 trunk road. The aquatic vegetation has
largely disappeared along a 15km stretch, where Water Voles used to be very abundant but
are now restricted to a small area above Litton Mill. The River Goyt downstream from the
sewage works at Whaley Bridge is another site that has good bankside vegetation, but the
river itself is so heavily polluted that it was anoxic when surveyed in August 1994.

The conservation of this species is assuming a higher priority. Locally, emphasis on
establishing good areas of marshy vegetation in oxbows, at stream confluences and at inlets
into reservoirs would probably do most to favour this species. Good bankside vegetation in
such sites could also double as a haven for returning Otters, another species that should be
part of local biodiversity initiatives (cf. Strachan & Jefferies, 1996). Pollution should be
increasingly restricted as better management of sewage and other facilities takes effect.

Acknowledgement

The maps were created with Dr A. J. Morton’s DMAP programme, for which I thank him.
References

Anderson, P., Tallis, J. H. and Yalden, D. W (1997). Restoring Moorland. Peak District
Moorland Magement Project Phase III report. English Nature, Peterborough and Peak
District National Park, Bakewell.

Bramwell, D., Yalden, D. W. and Yalden, P. E. (1990) Ossom’s Eyrie Cave: an
archaeological contribution to the recent history of vertebrates in Britain. Zoological
Journal of the Linnean Society of London, 98: 1-25.

Holland, P.K., Robson, J. E. and Yalden, D. W. (1982). The status and distribution of the

88 The White-faced Dragonfly Leucorrhinia dubia (Vander L.) on Thorne Moors

Common Sandpiper {Actitis hypoleucos ) in the Peak District. Naturalist 107: 77-86.
Holland, P. K. and Yalden, D. W. (1991). Population dynamics of Common Sandpipers
Actitis hypoleucos breeding along an upland river system. Bird Study 38: 151-159.
Holland, P. K. and Yalden, D. W. (1994). An estimate of lifetime reproductive success for
the Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos. Bird Study 41: 1 10-119.

Maltby, M. (1983). The animal bones. In Wigber Low, Derbyshire: a Bronze Age and
Anglian burial site in the White Peak (ed. J. Collis): 47-51. Department of Prehistory and
Archaeology, University of Sheffield.

Strachan, C., Jefferies, D. J., Barreto, G., Macdonald, D. W. and Strachan, R. (1997). The
rapid impact of resident American Mink on Water Voles: case studies in lowland
England. Symposium of the Zoological Society of London, (in press).

Strachan, R. and Jefferies, D. J. (1993). The Water Vole Arvicola terrestris in Britain 1989-
1990: its Distribution and Changing Status. Vincent Wildlife Trust, London.

Strachan, R. and Jefferies, D. J. (1996). Otter Survey of England 1991-1994. Vincent
Wildlife Trust, London.

Woodroffe, G. L., Lawton, J. H. Davidson, W. L. (1990). The impact of feral Mink
Mustela vison on Water Voles Arvicola terrestris in the North York Moors National
Park. Biological Conservation 51: 49-62.

Yalden, D. W. (1981). Sheep numbers in the Peak District. In Peak District Moorland
Erosion Study. Phase I Report (ed. J. Phillips, D. Yalden and J. Tallis): 1 16-124. Peak
Park, Bake well.

Yalden, D. W. (1992). Changing distribution and status of small mammals in Britain.
Mammal Review, 22: 97-106.

THE WHITE-FACED DRAGONFLY LEUCORRHINIA DUBIA
(VANDER L.) ON THORNE MOORS

MARTIN LIMBERT

Museum & Art Gallery, Chequer Road, Doncaster DN1 2AE

The Dale Archives at the Hope Library, Oxford University Museum ( vide Smith 1986),
show that the noted entomologist J. C. Dale visited the Doncaster area in 1837, from
24-31 July and on 11 August. Dale visited Melton Wood, Hatfield Moors and Thorne
Moors, working the latter locality on 28 July and 1 1 August. Other names associated with
this entomological collecting trip are Wm Beckitt, John Curtis, C. W. Dale, E. R. Dale,
Benjamin Standish, Richard Weaver, Dr P. White, R. Wood and the Rev. F. O. Morris. The
latter, a lifelong friend of J. C. Dale and then assistant curate of Armthorpe and Christ
Church, Doncaster, probably encouraged, and perhaps organised, the visits to the three
areas. He was resident in Doncaster 1835-37, and became a member of the Doncaster
Lyceum, whose honorary members, presumably as a result of Rev. Morris’s influence,
included J. C. Dale and John Curtis (Anon., 1837). Rev. Morris’s youngest son referred to
his father’s ‘favoured spots’ in the Doncaster district, including Thorne Moors, where ‘he
took many rare specimens of butterflies and moths, which he added to his already extensive
and well-ordered collections’ (Morris, 1897).

It is inconceivable that the excursionists were introduced to entomologically unknown
sites. The earliest precise insect records from Thorne Moors emanate from the 1820s, and
involve two species: the Downy Emerald Cordulia aenea (L.) (Odonata: Corduliidae),
captured by Wm Beckitt in 1823, and the Large Heath Coenonympha tullia Mull.
(Lepidoptera: Satyridae), known to James Backhouse (1794-1869), as recorded by Stephens
(1828). Beckitt, also a member of the Doncaster Lyceum (Anon., 1837), forms a known
link between those pioneer days of the 1820s and the events of 1837, and was perhaps

Naturalist 122 (1997)

The White-faced Dragonfly Leucorrhinia dubia (Vander L.) on Thome Moors 89

persuaded by Morris to act as guide at Thorne in the latter year.

On the two dates in 1837, specimens from many orders were collected on Thorne Moors,
including Odonata. The latter comprised members of three families: the Coenagrionidae
(Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum (Charp.)), Aeshnidae (Common
Hawker Aeshna juncea (L.), Emperor Dragonfly Anax imperator Leach) and Libellulidae
(Black Darter Sympetrum danae (Sulz.), White-faced Dragonfly) (Limbert, 1985a).
According to J. C. Dale’s entomological diary and C. W. Dale’s catalogue of the Dale
Collection, the White-faced Dragonfly was taken on the visit of 28 July (Limbert, 1985a),
though details of the collection, as given by Lucas (1908), note:

A female (72) bears the date Aug. 11, 1837 on a yellow label with
J. C. [DaleJ’s figures, whilst another female (73) has a yellow label of
the same sheet as the last, but not filled in. The last insect has
Yorkshire (at side), which no doubt refers to the previous insect also.

It seems, therefore, that single females were retained on both dates. J. C. Dale visited
Thorne Moors again in 1841, but on that occasion is not known to have collected Odonata.
However, in the same year he published a note (Dale, 1841), in which he stated:

In July, 1837, this insect occurred in plenty at Thorne Moor, Yorkshire.

John Curtis, another of the 1837 group, illustrated and described the dragonfly, and was
perhaps the author of the vernacular name he employed, the ‘ White-faced Dragon fly\ This
was in his 16-volumed work British Entomology, produced between 1823-40: ‘not a
systematic work, but a random series of beautiful engravings, each devoted to a single
species of insect . . .’ (Gambles 1976). Odonata feature in three of the complement of
plates and accompanying letterpress, the White-faced Dragonfly being included in volume
XV (Curtis, 1838):

This fine insect was discovered last year, about deep pools of water on
Thorne moor near Dorchester by Mr. Beckett [sic]; Mr. Dale found it
there in abundance the middle of July, but it was less common in
August; Mr. Harrison also took it near Glandford Brigg, Lincolnshire.

Lor a fine series I am indebted to the Rev. L. O. Morris and T. C.

Heysham, Esq., who took them in the North of England.

In the same volume, under ‘Errata and Addenda’, Curtis noted for Dorchester read
Doncaster’. However, the error was nevertheless perpetuated throughout the remainder of
the century. De Selys Longchamps (1846), in his revision of the British Odonata, described
the species thus:

England. Rare and local. - Mus[eum]. Curt[is]., [J. L.] Stephens].
Dorchester, Mus[eum]. Dale.

A common name, ‘Dorchester Nymph’, became enshrined in print (Gabb, 1988, Limbert
1990), the term ‘Nymph’ being applied to the genera Sympetrum and Leucorrhinia. It was
Curtis, and not Dale or de Selys Longchamps, who originated the error ( contra Limbert
1990). C. W. Dale referred to it as ‘a mistake of Curtis’ (Eraser, 1940), and this is
confirmed by Curtis’s entomological diary. Although providing no details about the White-
faced Dragonfly at Thorne, he referred to both the Common Blue Damselfly and the Black
Darter as recorded from ‘Thorne moor nr. Dorchester’. The error remained ‘in the works of
several authors’ (Bath, 1893), in particular the annotated British list by McLachlan (1884),
which perhaps partly accounts for a lack of further records from Thome for over half a
century. The locality was investigated, and publicly corrected once again, by Bath (1893).
He was then quoted by Lucas (1900) in the latter’s standard work British Dragonflies
(Odonata), and the Dorset ghost was finally laid to rest until resurrected by Gabb (1988).

In the 1880s-90s the Huddersfield entomologist G. T. Porritt travelled to Thorne on a
number of occasions (Skidmore et al. 1987). Although primarily a lepidopterist, he also
worked some smaller orders, taking a specimen of the White-faced Dragonfly on 26 May
1890 (Porritt, 1897, 1907; Lucas, 1900). This last example still survives in his collection at
the Tolson Memorial Museum, Huddersfield. However, the dragonfly was essentially one
of those Thorne species, like the Short-winged Cone-head Conocephalus dorsalis (Latr.)

90 The White-faced Dragonfly Leucorrhinia dubia (Vander L.) on Thorne Moors

(Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) and the Scarce Footman Eilema complana L. (Lepidoptera:
Arctiidae), which was encountered by early entomologists, but which, at best, hardly
survived long enough to be recorded by the first entomologists associated with the
Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union. On Thorne Moors, the moss litter industry commenced in
1884, and greatly expanded in the following decade. This had a major impact on wetland
habitats, by extensive peat winning and concomitant drainage and reclamation (Limbert,
1987, 1990a). The White-faced Dragonfly had survived earlier attempts at drainage,
especially in the 1860s (Limbert, 1990a), but the combination of drainage and widespread
peat removal was clearly too damaging. Woodruffe-Peacock (1920-21), having described
the former rippling surface of the undrained or long-neglected moor when impacted, added:
Now that it has been so much more perfectly drained, I have not experienced
this liquidity in the upper layers of this hag in any visit since 1891.

The coincidence of this date with Porritt’s record of the White-faced Dragonfly may be no
accident: the species was never seen again, despite frequent visits by entomologists, some
of them interested in Odonata. The checking of numerous Sympetrum-Xookmg specimens
by the writer during the period 1976-85 revealed the Black Darter in its accustomed
abundance, with no sign of its rarer congener. The former is a similarly small, dark
libellulid, but lacks the white frons and dark basal wing-patches.

The White-faced Dragonfly, like Bembidion humerale Sturm (Coleoptera: Carabidae),
Curimopsis nigrita (Palm) (Coleoptera: Byrrhidae) (Crossley and Norris, 1975, 1976;
Buckland and Johnson, 1983, Johnson, 1978), and Eutaenionotum guttipennis Stenh.
(Diptera Ephydridae) (Skidmore, 1996), was added to the British insect fauna from Thorne
Moors. It is not clear if its discoverer in 1837, Beckitt, took it before or on 28 July, and
there is nothing to suggest that one of Dale’s specimens was actually collected by Beckitt
( contra Merritt et al., 1996). Curtis’s wording is not explicit, but seems to imply that the
dragonfly was met with before 28 July, and therefore before J. C. Dale’s first visit. It is
obviously significant that it was Beckitt who was credited with the discovery, and not Dale.
Perhaps the new species was at least a major reason for choosing the Thome venue at all. It
is interesting that Beckitt, although collecting Odonata on Thome Moors as early as 1823,
apparently did not come upon the White-faced Dragonfly until 1837. However, as a
hitherto unrecognised British insect, he may have long overlooked it amongst the Black
Darters, despite their partially dissimilar flight periods. Alternatively, he may have been
puzzled by it. There is no evidence to confirm that Beckitt himself actually identified the
new dragonfly.

The 1837 season may, fortuitously, have been a particularly good one for the White-
faced Dragonfly. Two other British records have been claimed from 1837, creating an
interesting temporal cluster. Neither has been researched by the writer, nor seriously
overrides Curtis’s assertion on priority of discovery. These are the record from Brigg,
probably the source of all later references to Lincolnshire, and a specimen of the genus
from Epping, Essex, by Henry Doubleday (Fraser, 1940), the locality possibly being
Coopersale Common (Doubleday, 1871). Nor is it certain from where T. C. Heysham
obtained his specimens, beyond ‘the North of England’. Thorne Moors is the obvious
locality. Curtis had a ‘fine series’ from Heysham and Morris; these are not in his extant
collection (Dr K Walker in litt.). It is probably unlikely that any others collected by Morris
have survived (M. Limbert unpublished).

As noted, Beckitt collected the Downy Emerald on Thorne Moors in 1823; a specimen in
the Dale Collection is the sole proof of this. It may have been presented by Beckitt, as a
local rarity (even then), to J. C. Dale during the latter’s time in Doncaster. The first record
of this species in Britain appears to be that of Edward Donovan, who took it at Hampstead,
London, in 1805 (Longfield, 1949). The Thome Moors record is therefore significantly
early, and Beckitt is clearly of some interest in the history of British odonatology.
Although locally resident, and Mayor of Doncaster in 1839, he has proved biographically
elusive, and would repay further research.

The known genetic material available from the extinct population of the White-faced

The White-faced Dragonfly Leucorrhinia dubia (Vander L.) on Thorne Moors 9 1

Dragonfly at Thorne is restricted to the three specimens pinned in cabinet drawers at
Oxford and Huddersfield. However, they are the proof that the species did occur naturally
on the moorland in the 19th century. It is interesting to note that there are no records from
nearby Hatfield Moors. This might be at least partly accounted for by the lesser attention
directed there by entomologists (Limbert, 1985b, 1986), but may also serve as a further
example of the ecological distinctness of the two moorlands, as emphasised by Skidmore
(1997).

In succeeding decades, the fate which visited Thorne Moors was repeated elsewhere, and
now the White-faced Dragonfly, always restricted in its number of known locations (Lucas
1900), has become vulnerable in all parts of England (Merritt et al., 1996). As an insect of
Sphagnum- rich mire pools, it has especially suffered from serai change, habitat loss and -
latterly - drought. Fortunately, within the right situation, its breeding habitat can be
artificially manipulated to increase its numbers, as for example at Chartley Moss NNR,
Staffordshire (Bailey, 1992), and Fenns, Whixhall & Bettisfield Mosses NNR,
Shropshire/Clwyd (Brooks, 1997). However, Thorne was the sole haunt of the species in
eastern England, including the whole of Yorkshire (Merritt et al. 1996). A probable record
of coastal immigration at Scarborough in 1900 (Imms, 1900) is considered invalid (Limbert
1985a; Merritt et al., 1996). As there is no certain evidence to suggest that this is a
migratory dragonfly in Britain (Merritt et al., 1996), Brooks (1997), writing of Thome
Moors as an erstwhile eastern outpost of the species, is justified in commenting that it ‘is
unlikely to recolonise the site naturally because there are no other populations nearby’. The
White-faced Dragonfly is one of a trio whose entire recorded presence in Yorkshire is
restricted to the Doncaster district, during the period 1823-1911. The remaining two are the
Downy Emerald ( antea ) and the Scarce Chaser Libellula fulva Miill. (Odonata:
Libellulidae), the latter being known at Shirley Pool, Askern, 1888-191 1 (Limbert, 1985).

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Mrs A. Z. Smith, former Librarian at the Hope Library, Oxford University
Museum, for facilitating my research there. Dr K. Walker, Curator of Entomology at the
Museum of Victoria, Abbotsford, Australia, examined the Curtis Collection held there for
specimens of the White-faced Dragonfly, and sent relevant photocopies from John Curtis’s
diaries and collection catalogue. W. E. Rimington drew my attention to the allusion to
Large Heath at Thorne in volume 1 of J. F. Stephens’s Illustrations of British Entomology.
Gratitude is also due to Helen R. Kirk for typing the script.

References

Anon. (1837). Report of the Committee of the Doncaster Lyceum, for the year 1836, with
the Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Members, held at the Institution, on the
fourth of January, 1837. Doncaster.

Bailey, M. P. (1992). The White-[f]aced [Djragonfly Leucorrhinia dubia (Vander Linden)
at Chartley Moss National Nature Reserve, Staffordshire. J. Br. Dragonfly Soc. 8: 1-3.
Bath, W. H. (1893) Observations on British Odonata. Entomologist 26: 108-109.

Brooks, S. J. (1997). Peatland Dragonflies (Odonata) in Britain; a review of their
distribution, status and ecology. In L. Parkyn, R. E. Stoneman, and H. A. P. Ingram,
(eds) Conserving Peatlands. Wallingford.

Buckland, P. C. and Johnson, C. (1983). Curimopsis nigrita (Palm) [Coleoptera:
Byrrhidae] from Thome Moors, South Yorkshire. Naturalist 108: 153-154.

Crossley, R. and Norris, A. (1975). Bembidion humerale Sturm in Yorkshire, a beetle new
to Britain. Naturalist 100: 154.

Crossley, R. and Norris, A. [1976]. Bembidion humerale Sturm (Col., Carabidae) new to
Britain. Entomologist’s mon. Mag. Ill: 59-60.

Curtis, J. (1838). British Entomology; being Illustrations and Descriptions of the Genera of
Insects found in Great Britain and Ireland: . . . Vol. XV. London.

Dale, J. C. (1841). Art. XL. - Varieties by Various Contributors. 73. Libellula rubicunda.

92 The White-faced Dragonfly Leucorrhinia dubia (Vander L.) on Thorne Moors

Entomologist 1: 175.

Doubleday, H. (1871). A List of the Odonata (Dragon-flies) occurring in the
neighbourhood of Epping. Entomologist’s mon. Mag. 8: 86-87.

Fraser, F. C. (1940). Some old records and extracts from the letters of J. C. Dale. J. Soc.
Br. Ent. 2: 67-69.

Gabb, R. (1983). English names for dragonflies. J. Br. Dragonfly Soc. 4: 19-21.

Gambles, R. M. (1976). A history of Odonatology in the British Isles. Odonatologica 5: 1-

10.

Imms, A. D. (1900). A probable case of migration in Leucorrhinia dubia, V. d. L.
Entomologist’s mon. Mag. 36: 189.

Johnson, C. (1978). Notes on Byrrhidae (Col.); with special reference to, and a species new
to, the British fauna. Entomologist’s Rec. J. Var. 90: 141-147.

Limbert, M. (1985). The Scarce Chaser Libellula fulva at Shirley Pool. Yorks. Nat. Un
Bull. 3: 9-10.

Limbert, M. (1985a). Three rare Yorkshire dragonflies. Yorks. Nat. Un Bull. 4: 4.

Limbert, M. (1985b). Naturalists on Hatfield Moor. Naturalist 110: 103-110.

Limbert, M. (1986). Naturalists on Hatfield Moor: further notes. Naturalist 111: 59-60.

Limbert, M. (1987). Some notes on the landscape history of Thorne Moors. Thorne Moors
Papers 1: 31-43.

Limbert, M. (1990). Notes on the Dorchester Nymph, Leucorrhinia dubia (Vander
Linden). J. Br. Dragonfly Soc. 6: 18-19.

Limbert, M. (1990a). The drainage of Thorne Waste in the nineteenth century. Thorne &
District Local History Association Occasional Paper No. 5.

Longfield, C. (1949). The dragonflies (Odonata) of the London area. Lond. Nat. 28: 80-98.

Lucas, W. J. (1900). British Dragonflies (Odonata). London.

Lucas, W. J. (1908). Notes on the British dragonflies of the ‘Dale Collection’.
Entomologist’s mon. Mag. 44: 198-203.

McLachlan, R. (1884). The British dragon-flies annotated. Entomologist’s mon. Mag. 20:
251-256.

Merritt, R., Moore, N. W. and Eversham, B. C. (1996). Atlas of the Dragonflies of Britain
and Ireland. London.

Morris, M. C. F. (1897). Francis Orpen Morris. A Memoir. London.

Porritt, G. T. (1897). Preliminary list of the Neuroptera and Trichoptera of Yorkshire
(omitting Psocidae and Ephemeridae). Naturalist 22: 1 15-126.

Porritt, G. T. (1907). Orthoptera, Neuroptera and Trichoptera. In W. Page (ed.) The
Victoria History of the County of York. Vol. 1. London.

Selys Longchamps, E. de (1846). Revision of the British Libellulidae. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist.
18:217-227.

Skidmore, P. (1996). Eutaenionotum guttipennis (Stenh.) var. lolivaceum Oldenberg
(Dipt., Ephydridae) in Britain. Dipterist’s Digest 3: 24-27.

Skidmore, P. (1997). Recent work on the insects of Hatfield Moors, and a comparison with
Thome Moors. Thorne and Hatfield Moors Papers 4: 61-14.

Skidmore, P., Limbert, M. and Eversham, B. C. (1987). The insects of Thome Moors.
Sorby Record 23 (supplement): 89-[153].

Smith, A. Z. (1986). A History of the Hope Entomological Collections in the University
Museum, Oxford. Oxford.

Stephens, J. F. (1828). Illustrations of British Entomology. Vol. 1. London.

Woodruffe-Peacock, E. A. (1920-21). The ecology of Thorne Waste. Naturalist 45: 301-
304, 353-356, 381-384; 46: 21-25.

Notes on the Marsh Flies (Diptera: Sciomyzidae) of Yorkshire 93

NOTES ON THE MARSH FLIES
(DIPTERA: SCIOMYZIDAE) OF YORKSHIRE

ROY CROSSLEY

1 The Cloisters, Wilberfoss, York Y04 5RF

Sciomyzidae are small to medium-sized Acalypterate flies of a general brownish colour;
some species have spotted or infuscated wings. The larvae feed as aquatic predators or
terrestrial parasitoids (and/or predators) of pulmonate snails and pea mussels, and a few
attack slugs or consume snail eggs (Rozkosny 1995).

In view of the larval habits it is not surprising that many sciomyzids are to be found in
damp or marshy localities, although a few species occur in dry habitats. They were
popularly known as ‘marsh flies’ before their association with snails was fully realised;
nowadays they are sometimes colloquially referred to as ‘snail-killing flies’.

The Sciomyzidae is one of several families of diptera which can be useful in assessing
the quality and conservation value of wetland habitats, especially fen and other wetlands of
a mesotrophic or calcareous nature (Falk 1992).

Following the modern concept of the Sciomyzidae (Rozkosny 1995), there are currently
505 world species and the British list, including the genus Pelidnoptera, now considered to
be representative of the Phaeomyiidae, stands at 67 (Kloet & Hincks 1975, with additions),
of which 57 are recorded in Watsonian Yorkshire. Of the Yorkshire species, 11 are
provisionally classed as Red Data Book species and 13 are Nationally Notable (Falk 1991).

The distribution accounts which follow relate to these species and to others which,
although not considered nationally scarce, nevertheless appear to be regionally uncommon,
or are of particular interest. They are based upon the records of the Yorkshire Naturalists’
Union which I have recently up-dated; full details of each record are not quoted in all cases
but these are available on request.

Pelidnoptera: the two British species of this genus, which is now placed in the family
Phaeomyiidae (Vala et al. 1990), occur in Yorkshire. They are included in this paper in
view of the historic inclusion of the genus in the Sciomyzidae. P. fuscipennis (Mg.) is
widespread in Yorkshire but it appears to be scarce in the west of the county; it is
parasitic on millepedes (Vala et al. 1990).

P. nigripennis (Fab.) Nb. Very local with only five reported localities, one each in vice-
counties 61, 64 and 65 and two in vice-county 62; all are post- 1967, the most recent being
Allerthorpe Common (VC61) 1990 and High Spring Wood, Swaledale (VC65) 1993.
Salticella fasciata (Mg.) RDB2. Known in Britain from only five post- 1960 sites, all of
them coastal (Falk 1991), this species was recorded at Spurn by C. A. Cheetham
25/6/1928. It has not been found since and it may now be extinct in Yorkshire.

Colobaea bifasciella (Fall.) Nb. Reported from only three Yorkshire localities: Thornton
Ellers (part of the Lower Derwent Valley NNR) 16/6/87 and Hornsea Mere 5/9/96 (both
VC61) (both R.C.), and Blacktoft Sands (VC63) where a specimen emerged 19/5/74 ex
Lymnaea ( Gaba ) truncatula L. (P. Skidmore). Mr A. Norris informs me (pers . comm.),
that L. truncatula is a widespread and abundant snail in damp localities and it is the main
host of the liver-fluke which affects sheep.

C. distincta (Mg.) Nb. First recorded in Yorkshire at Hotham Carrs (VC61) in 1953, there
are only two further county records, Went Valley (VC63) 18/6/70 and Wheldrake Ings
(VC61) 28/7/90.

C. punctata (Lundb.) Nb. First reported in Yorkshire from the banks of the River Wharfe at
Otley (VC64) 19/8/84 (P.S.), and at Thrybergh Reservoir (VC63) the following year,
there have been four records since 1994, one at Rawcliffe Meadows, York (VC62), and
from three localities in the Lower Derwent Valley NNR (VC61). At Rawcliffe Meadows
large numbers were found in late July 1995 at the muddy margins of a field pond which
was constructed a few years earlier as part of the development of this local nature park.
In 1996 it was taken at Burdale pond (VC61) in the Wolds (P. J. Chandler).

Naturalist 122 (1997)

94 Notes on the Marsh Flies (Diptera: Sciomyzidae) of Yorkshire

Pherbellia argyra Verbeke RDB2. The sole Yorkshire record, from Bentley Common
(VC63) swept from Glyceria etc. on the edge of a pond 23/6/76 (P.S.), is one of only six
post-1960 British records for this species (Falk 1991).

P. brunnipes Mg. Nb. The first record of this species in Yorkshire was from Wentworth
(VC63) 7/7/21. There was no further report until 3/7/80 when a pair was collected by a
shallow muddy pond in Sandall Beat Wood, Doncaster (VC63). A single male was taken
by the River Wharfe, Otley (VC64) 19/8/84 (P.S.), and since 1990 specimens have been
found at three sites in the Lower Derwent Valley NNR and also at Skipwith Common
(all VC61).

P, dorsata (Zett.) Nb. As in the case of the previous species, the first Yorkshire record was
from Wentworth (VC63) 7/7/21, followed by Malham Tarn (VC64) in the late 1950s. It
was next reported from Wheldrake Ings (VC61) in 1990, from Rawcliffe Meadows,
York (VC62) in 1995 and from two further localities in the Lower Derwent Valley NNR
(VC61) in the same year. In 1996 it was found at Burdale (VC61).

P. griseola (Fall.) Nb. Millington (VC61) provided the first county record 1/8/36, the next
being from the edge of the colliery at Thorne Moors (VC63) 25/7/76. There have been
no further records since and the one published for Wheldrake Ings (VC61) (Crossley
1993) was based on an erroneous identification and should be deleted.

P. knutsoni Verbeke RDB3. A single female was taken at a disused chalk quarry near
Bishop Wilton (VC61 ) 20/8/96 (R.C.). This constitutes the first record for Yorkshire;
about half a dozen sites are known in Britain, all of which appear to be dry habitats (Falk
1991). I am obliged to Mr J. H. Cole for identifying the specimen.

P. nana (Fall.) Nb. The only Yorkshire record for this nationally widespread, though local,
species is from Malham Tarn (VC64) post- 1970, but with no further details.

Pteromicra leucopeza (Mg.) RDB2. As with the previous species, the only Yorkshire
record is from Malham Tam (VC64) post- 1970, but with no further details.

Sciomyza dryomyzina Zett. RDB2. This species is reported from eight sites in Britain of
which only three are post- 1960 records (Falk 1991). The single Yorkshire record is from
Bubwith (VC61) 1925. A number of rare insects formerly reported from ‘Bubwith’ have
been found in recent years in the winter-flooded hay meadows of the Lower Derwent
valley and it is possible that this species may survive somewhere in the area.

S. simplex Fall. Nb. Reported from Allerthorpe in 1928, and at Bubwith (also probably in
the 1920s), (both VC61), there were no further Yorkshire records for this nationally
widespread, though very local, species until 1980, when a single female was found in a
water trap at Blacktoft Sands (VC63); the following year the species was taken in a bed
of Glyceria at Bubwith Ings (VC61). It has been found since 1990 at Wheldrake Ings
and also, in 1996, at Hornsea Mere (both VC61).

Tetanura pallidiventris Fall. Locally distributed in Yorkshire, there are as yet no records
for VCs 61 and 63. The majority of reports are from calcareous woodlands; the fly
appears to be associated with extensive stands of Mercurialis perennis L. (Dog’s
Mercury). According to Rozkosny (1984), females lay eggs directly on the soft part of
terrestrial snails, using their unique flattened and partly twisted ovipositor.

Antichaeta analis (Mg.) RDB3. Falk (1991) lists nine post-1960 widely scattered localities
in Britain, most of which are high-quality fen sites. The first Yorkshire record was a
male collected at Askham Bog (VC64) 12/5/93, and on 6/5/95 a pair was taken at
Wheldrake Ings (VC61) in the fen near the wind-pump (both records R.C).

A. brevipennis (Zett.) RDB2. The only Yorkshire record for this species is from Denaby
Ings (VC63), 26/8/67 leg. C. Devlin, det. P.S. This is the most northerly of only seven
post- 1960 British sites listed in Falk (1991). There has been a subsequent (1993) record
from West Cumbria (Mawdsley 1996).

A. obliviosa End. RDB2. The first British specimen was found in Brampton Wood,
Cambridgeshire (VC31) in 1987 (Cole 1988), and further examples have been found
subsequently at three other sites in the same vice-county (Falk 1991). A single male was
taken in the fen near the wind-pump at Wheldrake Ings (VC61) 5/5/95 (R.C.). On the

95

Notes on the Marsh Flies (Diptera: Sciomyzidae) of Yorkshire

following day I returned to the site to search for further specimens but was not
successful. Instead, however, A. analis was found; the presence of these two nationally
rare species in the same location at the same time is quite remarkable.

Coremacera marginata (Fab.) Records for this distinctive species are concentrated in the
east of the county, the majority being in VC61; the most westerly Yorkshire sites are
Wass (VC62) and Copmanthorpe (VC64). The larvae are parasitoids of various
terrestrial snails and the species often occurs in relatively dry habitats (Rozkosny 1984).

Dichetophora finlandica Verbeke RDB3. Prior to 1986 this species was recorded from only
two Yorkshire localities: Sprotborough (VC63) 1965, and Hotham Carrs (VC61) 1972.
Since 1986 there have been records from Thornton Ellers (Lower Derwent Valley NNR)
(VC61); Keld Head Springs, Pickering and Rawcliffe Meadows, York (both VC62);
Askham Bog, York (VC64); Carlton Marsh, Barnsley (VC63). This species was
separated from D. obliterata (Fab.) in 1964 (see comments below).

D. obliterata (Fab.). Except for a 1972 record from Sherburn Willows (VC64), the
remaining seven county records are from East Yorkshire (VC61), the earliest being
Barmby Moor 1931, and the only one in recent years being from Wharram Quarry 1990.
It is possible that some of the pre-1964 records could refer to D. finlandica (see above).

Dictya umbrarum (L.) Nb. Malham Tam Fen and Thieves Moss (both VC64) are two of a
cluster of sites within five adjacent 10km squares in the Craven uplands to which this
species appears to be confined in Yorkshire. A record for Austwick, probably in the
1920s, is the earliest, the most recent one being Thieves Moss on the occasion of the
Y.N.U. meeting at Moughton in 1983. The distribution of this species nationally is
typically ‘Highland Britain’, with outlying populations in New Forest and Dorset bogs
(Falk 1991).

Ectinocera borealis (Zett.) RDB3. A boreo-montane species in Europe, the majority of
British records are from Scotland (Falk 1991). It was first recorded in Yorkshire at
Austwick by C. A. Cheetham in 1926 and also by him at Grass Woods (both VC64). It
has since been found at Malham Tam (VC64), most recently in 1983 (Falk 1992), and at
High Spring Wood, Swaledale (VC65) 19/5/93 (R.C.).

Ilione lineata (Fall.) An undated record from Pilmoor (VC62), probably from the 1920s,
and another from North Cave (VC61) 11/7/53 were the only Yorkshire records until
specimens were found at Thorne Moors (VC63) in 1969. In recent years the species has
been found at two sites within the Lower Derwent Valley NNR (VC61), and at ponds on
Strensall Common (VC62).

Limnia unguicomis (Scop.) Records for this species are widespread in VCs 61, 62 and 64,
with a few in VC63 and one in VC65. However, the description of a closely similar
species, L. paludicola Elberg in 1965 throws some doubt on the validity of records of L.
unguicomis prior to that date in the case of those specimens which have not been re-
examined. Examples of authentic L. unguicomis and L. paludicola have been found in
Yorkshire since 1965 and indications are that both species will prove to be locally
distributed across the county.

Psacadina verbekei Rozkosny Nb. The first county record was from Shirley Pool (VC63)
in 1975. Since then it has been recorded from about a dozen widely scattered marshy or
other wetland sites in all vice-counties except 65. If distribution nationally follows the
pattern in Yorkshire, the current rarity status of this species will probably be removed in
a future review.

Sepedon sphegea (Fab.) An undated record from Pilmoor (VC62), probably in the 1920s,
remained the only one for the county until 1970, when the species was reported at West
Ings, Stainforth (VC63). Thereafter it was found at a further four sites in the Doncaster
area (VC63), the last being in 1983. Since 1994 it has been found in VC61 at Skipwith
Common and two sites in the Lower Derwent Valley NNR, and in VC62 at Strensall
Common and Rawcliffe Meadows, York. This is a relatively large and distinctive fly
which can be identified in the field, and the post- 1990 occurences point to a possible
extension of range.

96 Notes on the Marsh Flies (Diptera: Sciomyzidae) of Yorkshire

S. spinipes (Scop.) This is a scarce and localised Yorkshire species with a cluster of
recorded sites in the Doncaster area (VC63) from 1968-86 (P.S.). In 1994 and 1996
specimens found at ponds on Strensall Common (VC62) probably represent a recent
extension of range since this species, like the last, is distinctive and easily recognised
and it is unlikely to have been overlooked in the past.

Tetanocera freyi Stack. RDB3. Separated from the closely similar and fairly common
T. silvatica Mg. in 1963, T. freyi remained unreported in Yorkshire until 1996 when a
female was taken on 14 July at Seivedale (Dalby Forest), (VC62) (C. M. Drake). Falk
(1991) lists eleven widely dispersed sites throughout Britain.

T. fuscinervis (Zett.) Recorded from Austwick (VC64) in 1922, Fylinghall (VC62) in 1928
and Malham Tarn (VC64) in 1959, there were no more reports for this species until
1980, since when it has been recorded in a further eight widely dispersed sites in upland
areas of VCs 62, 64 and 65.

T. phyllophora Melander Nb. First recorded in the county at Ashberry (VC61 ) 27 1611 1,
this species has subsequently been recorded at three further sites in the North York
Moors National Park and also at Askham Bog (VC64). It appears to be genuinely scarce
in Yorkshire.

T. punctifrons Rond. Nb. First recorded in the county at Elleron (VC62) 8/8/90
(A. Grayson), the species was subsequently taken in the vicinity of a marsh on the site of
a former pond at Beningborough Park (VC62) in 1991 (R.C.), and a further specimen
was found at a field drain near the River Foulness, Eastrington (VC61) 20/7/92 (R.C.). In
1996 it was reported from Sand Dale and Wheeldale Road (both VC62) (C. M. D.).

Other species currently recorded in Yorkshire are listed below. They are mostly widely
distributed and fairly common; broad distribution patterns are indicated as appropriate.
Pherbellia albocostata (Fall.) all vice-counties
P. cinerella (Fall.) all vice-counties
P. dubia (Fall.) all vice-counties

P. pallidiventris (Fall.) all vice-counties except 61; local
P. schoenherri (Fall.) all vice-counties; local
P. scutellaris (Roser) all vice-counties except 6 1
P. ventralis (Fall.) all vice-counties

Pteromicra angustipennis (Staeg.) vice-counties 61, 63, 64; local
Elgiva cucularia (L.) all vice-counties except 65

E. solicita Harr, mostly in vice-counties 61 and 63; single localities in VC’s 62 and 64

Euthycera fumigata (Scop.) all vice-counties

Hydromya dorsalis (Fab.) all vice-counties

Ilione albiseta (Scop.) all vice-counties

Pherbina coryleti (Scop.) all vice-counties

Renocera pallida (Fall.) all vice-counties

R. stroblii Hendel all vice-counties

Tetanocera arrogans (Mg.) all vice-counties except 65

T. elata (Fab.) all vice-counties; common

T. ferruginea Fall, all vice-counties; common

T. hyalipennis Roser all vice-counties; common

T. robusta Lw. all vice-counties except 65

T. silvatica Mg. vice-counties 62, 64, 65

Trypetoptera punctulata (Scop.) all vice-counties.

Acknowledgements

A debt of gratitude is owed to many entomologists, past and present, who have provided
the raw data on which this account has been based, and to a succession of Y.N.U.
Recorders who have assiduously maintained the records. I am obliged to Mr J. H. Cole for
much help and advice, and to Mr A. Norris for conchological information. The current

Recorder’s Sixth Report of the Aculeate Hymenoptera in Watsonian Yorkshire 97

Y.N.U. Recorder for the section of Diptera in which the Sciomyzidae is placed is Mr A.
Grayson, and I am gratetul to him for access to the records in order to produce this paper
on a family which has been a peripheral interest of mine for many years.

References

Cole, J. (1988). Antichaeta obliviosa Enderlein (Diptera: Sciomyzidae) new to Britain.
Entomologist 107 (2): 155.

Crossley, R. (1993). The Sciomyzidae (Diptera) of the Lower Derwent Valley National
Nature Reserve, East Riding of Yorkshire. Naturalist 118: 87-89.

Falk, S. (1991). A Review of the Scarce and Threatened Flies of Great Britain ( Part 1).
Research and Survey in Nature Conservation No. 39. Nature Conservancy Council,
Peterborough.

Falk, S. J. (1992). Records and observations of scarcer snail-killing flies (Sciomyzidae) and
millipede-killing flies (Phaeomyiidae) with a provisional list of Warwickshire species.
Dipterists Digest No 11: 17-21.

Kloet, G. S. and Hincks, W. D. (1975). A Check-List of British Insects. Part 5: Diptera and
Siphonaptera. Second edition (revised). Handbk. Ident. Br. Insects 11(5): i-ix, 1-139.
Mawdsley, T. H. (1996.) Antichaeta brevipennis (Diptera: Sciomyzidae) in West Cumbria.
Dipterists Digest 2 (2): 89.

Rozkosny, R. (1984). The Sciomyzidae (Diptera) of Fennoscandia and Denmark. Faun,
ent. scand. 14: 1-224.

Rozkosny, R. (1995). World distribution of Sciomyzidae based on the list of species
(Diptera). Studia dipterologica 2 (2): 221-238.

Vala, J. C., Bailey, P. T. and Gasc, C. (1990). Immature stages of the fly Pelidnoptera
nigripennis (Fabricius) (Diptera: Phaeomyiidae), a parasitoid of millipedes. Systematic
Entomology 15: 391-399.

RECORDER’S SIXTH REPORT OF THE
ACULEATE HYMENOPTERA IN WATSONIAN YORKSHIRE

MICHAEL E. ARCHER

The University College ofRipon and York St John, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York Y03 7EX

Since my last report (Archer, 1994) two new species have been found in Watsonian
Yorkshire. In the following section, collectors are identified by the initials: M. E. Archer
(MEA), L. Auckland (LA), J. D. Coldwell (JDC), R. Crossley (RC), S. Foster (SF),
A. Grayson (AG), S. J. Hayhow (SJH), A. S. Lazenby (ASL), R. Morris (RM),
S. M. Saxton (SMS), D. Whiteley (DW) and P. Winter (PW).

The new species are: Spilomena differens Bluthgen (Clough Wood, SE20, Aug. 1994,
July 1995, JDC) and the superwasp Dolichovespula media (Retzius). D. media was first
recorded in 1994 by RC (Duncombe Park, SE68, June) and JDC (Barnsley, SE30, July).
During 1995 it was recorded by MEA (York, SE65, two records Aug.; Thixondale, SE86,
Aug.; Tollerton, SE56, Aug.; Horse Dale, SE85, March; Malton, SE97) and LA (Staxton,
TA07, Aug.). During 1996 it was recorded by PW (Muston, TA07, Sept.) and RM (Rushy
Moor, SE5 1, July).

Other important records are: Sapyga clavicornis (Linn.). Caydale, SE58, June 1995,
MEA; Stutton, SE44, June 1996, MEA. Crossocerus styrius (Kohl). Woolley Wood, SK39,
July 1994, DW. C. walked (Shuckard). Little Don Valley, SE10, June 1995, JDC.
Ectemnius sexcinctus (Fab.). Sheffield, SK38, July, Aug. 1994, ASL; Kirbymoorside,
SE68, June 1994, AG; Manvers Colliery, SE40, July 1995, JDC; Bradford, SE13, June,
July 1995, SMS; Keighley, SE04, July 1995, SMS; Sheffield, SK38, June 1995, ASL;

Naturalist 122 (1997)

98 Recorder’s Sixth Report of the Aculeate Hymenoptera in Watsonian Yorkshire

Ringhay Wood, SE43, June 1996, MEA; Carlton Marsh, SE31, Aug. 1996, JDC.
Spilomena beata Bluthgen. Wycliffe, NZ11, July 1983, SJH; Bretton Lakes, SE21, July
1996, JDC. Argogorytes fargei (Shuckard). Stutton, SE44, June 1994, MEA;
Beningbrough, SE55, June 1995, July 1996, MEA; Fulford Ings, York, SE64, June 1995,
MEA. Cerceris arenaria (Linn.). Rossington Bridge, SK69, July 1994, MEA. Hylaeus
brevicornis Nylander. Lindrick Dale Quarry, SK58, June 1995, MEA; Rossington Bridge,
SK69, June 1995, MEA. H. signatus (Panzer). Manvers Colliery, SE40, Oct. 1994, July
1995, JDC. Andrena ocreata (Christ). Gundale, SE88, April & June 1994, MEA.
Sphecodes puncticeps Thomson. Sandall Beat Wood, SE60, July 1992, SF; Thornton
Ellers, SE74, Aug. 1994, MEA; Barnby Dun, SE60, June 1995, MEA; Rossington Bridge,
SK69, June 1995, MEA; Stutton, SE44, June 1996, MEA. Coelioxys rufescens Lepeletier
& Serville. Manvers Colliery, SE40, July 1995 & 1996, JDC. Nomada flava Panzer.
Rossington Bridge, SK69, female, June 1995, MEA.

Computation of the Solitary Wasp Records

The 5691 records of the solitary wasp species up to the 1996 season have been
incorporated into an electronic data bank. Since each record can consist of up to 14 parts or
fields, then 79,674 fields have been visited. A record is a specimen differing in one of the
following three variables: name, sex and day of capture or observation. The distribution of
records among the solitary wasp families is as follows: Chrysididae (475 records),
Tiphiidae (9), Mutillidae (109), Sapygidae (32), Pompilidae (748), Eumenidae (680),
Sphecidae (3638).

Regional Quality Scoring System

Archer (1993) developed a Yorkshire or regional quality scoring system, with solitary wasp
species ranked according to the number of localities in which each species was found. A
locality was defined by its 1km. grid square, and it was assumed that different localities
would not have the same 1km. grid reference. For most species this assumption has been
supported, but a few common species have ben found in more localities than 1km. grid
squares (Table 1). Thus the same locality may be known by more than one name, or,
particularly in urban areas, different localities are found in the same 1km. square. To
overcome this problem the solitary wasp species now have been ranked by the number of
lkm. squares in which each is found.

TABLE 1

The regional or Watsonian Yorkshire statuses of the solitary wasp species

Status

No. Species

No. lkm x lkm squares

No. localities

Rare

35

1-6

1-6

Occasional

30

7-15

7-15

Frequent

33

16-33

16-34

Common

33

34-87

35-94

The 131 species of solitary wasps have been divided into four status categories (Table
1); for example in Yorkshire, rare species are those found in up to six lkm. squares. The
rare list contains four species ( Ceropales maculata (Fab.), Ectemnius lituratus (Panzer),
Podalonia affinis (Kirby), and Mellinus crabroneus (Thunberg)) which now are extinct in
Yorkshire, and two species Tiphia femorata Fab. and Eumenes papillarius (Christ)) which
were probably brought accidentally into the county by humans, and, after having been
recorded once, have become extinct there.

Book Reviews

99

Species Awaiting Confirmation

There are a further four species of solitary wasps for which voucher specimens have not
been found. Confirmation with specimens is needed before these species can be accepted.
For three of these species ( Hedychridium roseum (Latreille in Coquebert), Arachnospila
consobrina (Dahlbom) and Crabo scutellatus (Scheven)) confirmation with new material is
not possible since the current British distribution of these species are remote from
Yorkshire. The fourth species, Cleptes nitidulus (Fab.), may be found in Yorkshire, as it is
known from Lancashire. R. A. Eades recently passed to me a male C. scutellatus found
dead at Goole on 17 June 1992 on the ship Jaroslaw which had come from Poland.

Species Split

The solitary wasp Tachysphex unicolor has been split into two species. All the Yorkshire
specimens are T. nitidus (Spinola).

Archival Material

Four copies of the paper records of the solitary wasp and bee species, up to the season of
1994 have been produced. One copy has been deposited in the archives at Sheepscar, Leeds
and one copy at Keighley museum. The other two copies are retained by myself. All the
record sheets and books I received from J. H. Flint, and the Fordham Cards, also have been
deposited at Sheepscar in the archives. I have made photocopies of the Fordham cards for
my use.

References,

Archer, M. E. (1993). Recorder’s fourth report on the aculeate Hymenoptera in Watsonian
Yorkshire and the development of a quality scoring system. Naturalist 118: 13-15.
Archer, M. E. (1994). Recorder’s fifth report on the aculeate Hymenoptera in Watsonian
Yorkshire. Naturalist 119: 73-77.

BOOK REVIEWS

Geography: Realms, Regions and Concepts by H. J. de Blij and P. O. Muller. Pp. xxvii
+ 613, with 133 colour photographs and 176 full colour maps. 8th edition. John Wiley.
1997. £23.95 hardback.

This archetypal American textbook claims to provide ‘an information highway to
geographical literacy’ and to present ‘a geographical perspective on the transforming
world’ by establishing a framework of geographical understanding based upon approx-
imately 150 geographical concepts. It endeavours to provide a concise yet comprehensive
global picture of the world’s major human realms and regions. Having set such a
challenging target it is almost inevitable that there will be at least a few areas of weakness,
such as overgeneralisation and outdated information; for example, the map of West Africa
still shows the Freetown to Pendembu railway line even though this was closed twenty-five
years ago. However, despite a few failings, the work provides an informative and
perceptive view of the events that are shaping the human geography of the contemporary
world and sets them into a useful conceptual framework of geographical realms.

An introductory chapter which contains useful maps of the world’s crustal plates,
precipitation, climatic belts, vegetation types and landforms provides an outline of the
Earth’s physical attributes. Further maps showing the distribution of population and of
economic status are then integrated with the physical information to establish twelve
‘global realms’. Twelve chapters are then devoted to providing details and sample studies
of areas within each of these realms. An interesting feature of the systematic coverage is

100

Book Reviews

that a brief history is provided for each realm, which complements the geographic and
cultural information and helps to account for many of its distinctive attributes.

Inevitably, in a book of this type, information is presented in simplified manner using
‘broad brush strokes’. The United Kingdom is divided into five subregions: ‘Affluent
Southern England; Stagnant Northern England; Intractible Wales; Individualistic Scotland
and Embattled Northern Ireland’! About a hundred words are devoted to each region.
Whilst this conciseness may be necessary, the reasoning behind some concepts is not
always clear; for example, it is stated that Liverpool has ‘seen its docks all but abandoned’
and ‘its hopes now rest on a thread: the Channel Tunnel and the link it provides to
burgeoning Western Europe’.

Provided that one is willing to accept such sweeping generalisations and to learn that
‘the United Kingdom has an area about the size of Oregon’, this book has a lot to offer the
British reader as it presents a non-European view of the world in clear and striking terms
and is effective in highlighting the rapid changes which have transformed the human
geography of the globe in the last twenty years.

DEC

The Tropical Rain Forest: an Ecological Study by P. W. Richards. Pp. xxiii + 575, with
numerous line drawings, b/w photographic plates and tables. 2nd edition. Cambridge
University Press. 1996. £90.00 hardback, £32.50 paperback.

This long-awaited revision of such an influential work lives up to the high standards of its
predecessor, published in 1952 (and reprinted, with minor correction and additions, in
1957, 1964, 1966, 1972 and 1976). Unfortunately, the author, Professor Paul Richards
CBE (1908-1995), died before its publication, but fortunately for us not before he had
completed the manuscript (by 1994) and seen it through the press.

Since the first edition, the ecological stability of the tropical rain forests of the world has
been lost and these delicate ecosystems are no longer in equilibrium. Large tracts of this
important major biome have been devastated and for many tropical countries they have
been lost or reduced to refugia. Such changes are clearly documented in this scholarly
work. The present edition has been completely rewritten, with expanded chapters,
replacement chapters on climate, microclimate and hydrology (by R. P. D. Walsh) and on
soil (by I. C. Baillie), and a new appendix on the application of numerical methods in rain
forests (by P. Greig-Smith). The whole work, almost encyclopaedic in its compass, is
excellently supported by an extensive list of references (38 pp.), an index of plant names
(18 pp.) and detailed general index.

A worthy testament to a gifted botanist whom this reviewer had the pleasure to know and
the priviledge to collaborate with over many years.

MRDS

The Correpondence of Charles Darwin. Volume 10. 1862 edited by Frederick
Burkhardt, Duncan M. Porter, Joy Harvey and Jonathan R. Topham. Pp. xl + 936,
with 10 pp. b/w photographic plates. Cambridge University Press. 1997. £50.00 hardback.

The latest volume in this monumental enterprise and a fitting tribute to this remarkable
man. His enormous output of correspondence has been carefully gathered together and the
detail of supporting material, in terms of interpretive notes, and bibliographical and
biographical information, maintains the very high standard attained in previous volumes.
The letters in the current volume, many previously unpublished, are mainly concerned with
Darwin’s botanical work, but also include numerous reactions to The Origin of Species
from correspondents worldwide, besides revealing his very considerable concern for family
matters.

MRDS

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