84 Essex Coleoptera in 1999
Essex. Essex Naturalist 16 (New series): 30.
HAMMOND, P.M. (1995) Coleoptera in Epping Forest. Unpublished report to English Nature and the
Corporation of London. The Natural History Museum, London.
HAMMOND, P.M. (1999) The status in Essex of nationally scarce and threatened species of Coleoptera.
Essex Naturalist 16 (New Series): 145-1 54.
HAMMOND, P.M. (2000) Epping Forest Insect Survey: Coleoptera. Unpublished report to the
Corporation of London. The Natural History Museum, London.
LUFF, M.L. (1998) Provisional atlas of the ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) of Britain. Biological
Records Centre, Abbots Ripton, Huntingdon.
MENZIES, LS. & COX, M.L. (1996) Notes on the natural history, distribution and identification of British
reed beetles. British Journal of Entomology und Sutural History 9: 137-162.
PLANT, CW. & HARVEY, RR. (1997) Invertebrates of the South Essex Thames Gravels, Phase I:
Characterisation of the existing resource. Unpublished report to English Nature.
Recent Records of Hoverflies from Essex
ROGER PAYNE
Central Museum, Victoria Avenue, Southend-on-Sea, Essex SS2 6EW
New Essex records
Chrysotoxum elegans Loew RDB3 (rare)
A male was taken flying over low vegetation by D.A. Smith in his garden in Harold Hill, TQ5492,
on 1.vi. 1997. The garden is close to Dagnam Park, an area of old parkland. The species is associated
with dry grassland, especially on limestone and is scarce but widespread in southern England,
particularly in the west. The larvae are thought to be associated with ants or ant-attended aphids.
Callicera aurata (Rossi) RDB3 (rare)
A female of this beautiful metallic-coloured fly was taken by D. Hackett in Larks Wood, Chingford,
TQ3892, which is part of Epping Forest on 13.vi.1999. Most British records of this species are
centred on the New Forest and it is mainly a southern forest species with a strong association with
Beech trees. The larvae live in rot holes, mostly in Beech, but sometimes other trees.
Other notable Essex records
Pipizella maculipennis (Meigen) RDB3
There have been recent reports of this species (1996) from Lexden in Colchester, TQ4919 (J. Bowden).
The genus is a difficult one and doubts have been expressed whether the species can be determined
at all without genitalia examination. The only other records for this species are from the Colchester
area around the beginning of the 20th Century (Harwood).
Brachyopa insensilis Collin Notable (Scarce).
Males and females were found to be common on sap runs in the City of London Cemetery, Manor
Park, TQ4286, on 5.V.1995 (C.W. Plant).
Essex Naturalist (New Series) 17 (2000)