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TranslatePhaeostigma notata
Phaeostigma notata (Fabricius, 1781) commonly known as “Snake Fly”.
Family: Raphidiidae. Snakeflies (so named because they have very long necks and move their heads in snake-like movement) are predatory insects. An adult could be mistaken for a Lacewing as they are similar in appearance, although they have a more elongated thorax and the head is more mobile.
Body length 30mm.
Just four species of Snake Flies live in the UK. (Approximately 250 species have been recorded worldwide) Widespread and fairly common throughout England, Wales, Europe and Asia, also temperate regions worldwide. Snakeflies are only absent in the tropics and the Southern Hemisphere. Adults spend a lot of time high up in the trees searching for prey; making them not easy to be studied. More chance to see a Snake-fly when they are searching lower on trunks of trees especially oak and pine trees.
The larvae are mainly found living on or under the loose bark of trees and amongst leaf litter, searching for insects. The Adults and larvae are predators of soft bodied arthropods, making them important predators of Aphids and mites. Adult Snakeflies are territorial and emerge from May onwards.
Females are distinguished from males, by having a tail-like ovipositor which is used to lay
eggs in crevices between the layers of tree bark. Snakeflies have a four-stage life cycle: eggs, larvae, pupae and adults (Known as holometabolous (complete metamorphosis)). Several years may pass before they undergo metamorphosis.
Fossils of snakeflies from the early Jurassic period (140 million years ago) have been found.
Adults and larvae are active in daylight and fall prey to many birds including the nuthatch, dunnock, wood warbler, tree creeper and the great spotted woodpecker, just to name a few.
The larvae fall prey, mainly to parasitoid wasps.
Read MoreFamily: Raphidiidae. Snakeflies (so named because they have very long necks and move their heads in snake-like movement) are predatory insects. An adult could be mistaken for a Lacewing as they are similar in appearance, although they have a more elongated thorax and the head is more mobile.
Body length 30mm.
Just four species of Snake Flies live in the UK. (Approximately 250 species have been recorded worldwide) Widespread and fairly common throughout England, Wales, Europe and Asia, also temperate regions worldwide. Snakeflies are only absent in the tropics and the Southern Hemisphere. Adults spend a lot of time high up in the trees searching for prey; making them not easy to be studied. More chance to see a Snake-fly when they are searching lower on trunks of trees especially oak and pine trees.
The larvae are mainly found living on or under the loose bark of trees and amongst leaf litter, searching for insects. The Adults and larvae are predators of soft bodied arthropods, making them important predators of Aphids and mites. Adult Snakeflies are territorial and emerge from May onwards.
Females are distinguished from males, by having a tail-like ovipositor which is used to lay
eggs in crevices between the layers of tree bark. Snakeflies have a four-stage life cycle: eggs, larvae, pupae and adults (Known as holometabolous (complete metamorphosis)). Several years may pass before they undergo metamorphosis.
Fossils of snakeflies from the early Jurassic period (140 million years ago) have been found.
Adults and larvae are active in daylight and fall prey to many birds including the nuthatch, dunnock, wood warbler, tree creeper and the great spotted woodpecker, just to name a few.
The larvae fall prey, mainly to parasitoid wasps.
