Snake-flies, alderflies, lacewings and scorpion flies in Essex
Family CONIOPTERYGIDAE — wax-flies
The wax-flies, or dusty-wings, differ markedly from other British lacewings. They are small, none
exceeding a wingspan of more than 8 millimetres, and generally resemble the whiteflies (Hemiptera:
Aleyrodidae), which arc familiar pests of cultivated plants. However, they are at once distinguished
by the characteristic venation of the wings.
Almost all British records are from the network of light traps operated by the Rothamsted Insect
Survey; one such trap was sited in Essex, at Writtle, and operated until 1993; lacewings from this
trap were identified by myself. There are twelve British species, of which ten are found in Essex. Of
the missing species, Helicoconis ? hirtinervis, is known in Britain from just a single specimen taken
in Sutherland during the 1990s, whilst Aleuropteryx juniperi is confined to native juniper plants and
is known in Britain only from Box Hill in Surrey. A full review of British vvax-ilies can be found in
Plant (1991a), updated by the addition of an extra species in Plant (1992). Females cannot be named
and males can only be named by an examination of internal genital structures; not surprisingly, these
tiny insects are very under-recorded, both in Essex and in Britain as a whole.
Conwentzia psociformis (Curtis, 1834)
National status; Common (Common) Predicted county status: Common/—
Distribution
Widespread. This is probably the commonest
wax-fly in Essex; at any rate it is the most
frequently encountered. Adults are easily spotted
flying about just before dusk, sometimes earlier,
at the edges of woodland rides and clearings, but
are rarely noticed by entomologists in pursuit of
larger quarry.
Habitat and ecology
The aphid-feeding larvae are associated with a
variety of deciduous trees, notably oak, but
certainly not exclusively so. It is frequent at light
traps but rarely noticed by the lepidopterists using
them.
Threats
None apparent.
Etymology
From the Latin, forma = like/similar in combination with genus Psocus of the Psocoptera. Literally,
'Psocus-like'.
Conwentzia pineticola Enderlein, 1905
National status: Common (Common) Predicted county status: Local/—
Distribution
Apparently widespread and much overlooked. In spite of this being the type-species of the genus
(Enderlein 1905), both Killington (1936) and Fraser (1959) recognised only C. psociformis as a
Essex Naturalist (New Series) 17 (2000)
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