The Essex Naturalist
55
SUBFAMILY PEPSINAE
Auplopus carbonarius (Scopoli) - Notable B
Hunts a wide range of free-living spiders amongst vegetation, especially
Clubionidae, but also several other families.
Listed for North Essex by Falk (1991) without details.
Caliadurgus fasciatellus (Spinola)
Preys entirely on Araneidae (Meta, Araneus).
Recorded from Fairmead Bottom in Epping Forest between 1976 and 1990
(Hanson 1992). Apart from this Mill Wood at Grays, on the south facing edge
of the wood, Rushey Mead N.R., near Bishops Stortford, swept from fen
vegetation and Fobbing Marshes, on grazing marsh grassland with scrub, are our
only recent Essex localities for this species.
Cryptocheilus (Adonta) notatus (Rossius) - RDB 2
Known to prey upon a wide variety of spider families, this species is one of our
largest pompilids.
Recorded from Essex by Day (1988). Listed for South Essex by Falk (1991)
without details.
Dipogon subintermedius (Magretti) [= nitidus (Haupt)]
Preys on Segestria senoculata, nesting in walls, bramble stems and insect borings.
It is a species of mature hedgerows and dead timber.
The four widely spread Essex localities, at Epping Forest, Hadleigh Downs,
Thorndon Park South and Sandy Wood, Terling suggest that this species may be
under-recorded in the county.
Dipogon variegatus (L.)
Nests in almost any cavity, including snail shells and has been seen to excavate
its own cavity in soft mortar. Preys on spiders of the family Thomisidae; in
Britain only on Xysticus cristatus.
Although, as for the preceding species, we have five fairly widely separated
localities for this species, in this case all are in the south of the county. We have
records for Lords Bushes in Epping Forest (M Hanson), Leyton Flats, Dagenham
Chase, Mill Wood Pit and Ferry Fields at Tilbury.
Priocnemis (Priocnemis) agilis (Shuckard) - Notable B
Frequents dry grassy banks and open grassy areas on clay soils, often found on
flowers of wild carrot (Daucus). There are no prey data available.
There is a single Essex record, from Glemsford Pits on 25th July 1995.
P. (Priocnemis) cordivalvata (Haupt) - Notable B
Listed for North Essex by Falk (1991) without details. We also have a specimen,
possibly of this species, from Thorndon Park South, hut this record awaits
confirmation.
P. (Priocnemis) exaltata (Fabr.)
Preys on a wide variety of wandering spiders of the families Lycosidae, Salticidae