Helina impuncta

Description

6.75-8.25mm. Grey/brown with fine stripes on the thorax and no patterning on the abdomen. It has red femora and tibia, with yellow-tinted wings and darkened cross-veins.

Identification difficulty
ID checklist (your specimen should have all of these features)
  • Red femora + tibia (dark tarsi)
  • Yellow tinted wings + darkened cross-veins
  • Pre alar as long as, or longer than, the 2nd notopleural
  • Sternopleurals 1:2
  • Palps reddish yellow
  • No spots on tergites
  • Eyes very sparsely hairy
Habitat

It breeds on cow dung so most commonly encountered around cow pasture.

When to see it

Males most commonly seen in May to June but females can often be seen until November.

UK Status

Common and widespread in England and Wales.

VC55 Status

Believed to be fairly common in Leicestershire and Rutland but under-recorded.

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:
Flies
Kingdom:
Animalia
Order:
Diptera
Family:
Muscidae
Records on NatureSpot:
20
First record:
23/06/2007 (Nicholls, David)
Last record:
14/10/2023 (Nicholls, David)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

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