6
ESSEX RAPHIDIOPTERA - SNAKEFLIES
The oak-woodland dwelling Phaeostigma notata is traditionally supposed to be the
commonest of the four British species, though in Essex it appears with equal frequency
with Subilla confinis and Xanthostigma xanthostigma. Little seems certain about the
larval requirements of the latter two species, though all three are predatory in the early
stages and live under the bark of both fallen and standing dead timber. The adults are
truly arboreal and are rarely recorded for this reason. I have had a reasonable success by
standing on the deer-platforms on trees in some North Essex woodlands and beating the
higher branches; alternatively, sweep-netting woodland-edge vegetation after very strong
winds can pay dividends. The fourth species, Atlantoraphidia maculicollis is not
recorded for Essex but is surely present. It is confined to pine trees and is veiy common
on the ends of the lower branches of plantation pines in Hampshire and Surrey during
bright morning sunshine in early May.
For identification, the recommended key is Barnard (1988) but records should usually be
confirmed by examining male genitalia (see Plant, 1988).
ESSEX NEUROPTERA - TRUE LACEWINGS
The green lacewings are probably familiar to almost everybody, courtesy of our
commonest species, Chrysoperla carnea, the only member of the group to hibernate as an
adult. This habit leads it to enter houses. In warmer periods it breaks its hibernation and
heads for the sunlight - usually to find the window closed! Thus, it is often found dead on
window ledges.
But this is only one (actually, it is now considered to be a complex of four!) species in our
largest group of lacewings. There are 16 other green lacewings, which may come as a
surprise to some people, together with a large number of brown ones.
Green lacewings belong to the family Chrysopidae, a name which means "golden eyes".
Look at one close up in good sunlight and you will see why. Nine species are recorded for
Essex including Cunctochrysa bellifontensis added to the British list as recently as this
year (Plant, 1993) and since then recorded from the moth traps on the roof of the museum
store in East Ham and at Writtle Agricultural College. The larvae of all species are
voracious predators of aphids and in eastern Europe are of considerable economic
importance for this reason. The adults are equally aphidophagous but prior to egg laying
may need to feed on pollen in order to gain sufficient sustenance. The white eggs are
distinctive in that most species attach them to the plant surface by means of a long, thin
stalk. Often these are laid singly, but other species lay groups of eggs. Another variation
is that sometimes the stalks of each egg in a group are twisted together to form a single
strand. The precise number of eggs in the group and the manner of attachment are
important aids to identification of the parent species. Those species which do not employ
the stalk method usually lay their eggs at the tips of the hairs of the plant. In many species
the larvae adorn their bodies with dead plant and insect material as a form of camouflage