Tipula pagana

Description

Length 10 to 12 mm. The male has clear unmarked wings (some may have a pale lunule marking). The female has very short reduced wings which are not capable of flight. The thorax is grey and the abdomen grey-brown. The first antennal segment is grey, the second is orange-brown and the remainder are black.

Similar Species

Tipula holoptera - genital differences distinguish males but females are fully winged.

Identification difficulty
Habitat

Older meadows and gardens

When to see it

A late species usually seen from September to November, but occasional records from earlier in the summer.

Life History

The eggs are laid into soft ground and the larvae are the well known terrestrial 'leather jackets' - brown legless grubs which spend their time below ground eating the root systems of grasses and root crops.

UK Status

Quite frequent and widespread in Britain.

VC55 Status

Fairly frequent in Leicestershire and Rutland

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2020+ | 2015-2019 | pre-2015

UK Map

Species profile

Species group:
Craneflies, Gnats & Midges
Kingdom:
Animalia
Order:
Diptera
Family:
Tipulidae
Records on NatureSpot:
49
First record:
19/10/2009 (Calow, Graham)
Last record:
25/10/2023 (Nicholls, David)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

The latest images and records displayed below include those awaiting verification checks so we cannot guarantee that every identification is correct. Once accepted, the record displays a green tick.

In the Latest Records section, click on the header to sort A-Z, and again to sort Z-A. Use the header boxes to filter the list.

Latest images

Latest records