Ptychoptera albimana (Fabricius, 1787)

Wiberg-Larsen, Peter, Hansen, Søren Birkholm, Rinne, Aki, Viitanen, Esko & Krogh, Paul Henning, 2021, Key to Ptychopteridae (Diptera) larvae of Northern Europe, with notes on distribution and biology, Zootaxa 5039 (2), pp. 179-200 : 192

Ptychoptera albimana

The species has a southern distribution within the regarded geographical area ( Fig. 5A ) and is present in Ireland, U.K., Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Kaliningrad and Finland. The species is undoubtedly also present in Estonia and Latvia. Its northern boundary is located at approx. 60° latitude, and its distribution area extends to middle and southern Europe ( Spain, Italy, Balkan) ( Zwick 2020) and east into the European part of Russia, Ukraine and Turkey ( Paramonov 2013). Further, it is found in the Nearctic ( Zwick 2020).

In Denmark, the larvae are primarily found in shallow marginal areas of small stagnant waters (permanent ponds, pools), but they also occur in highly organic polluted small (<2.5 m width) streams or streams impacted by ochre precipitation. The preference for ochre is also characteristic of larvae found in stagnant waters and springs. In the U.K., breeding takes place at seepages, muddy puddles in woodland and pond margins ( Stubbs 1993). This species seems to be generally abundant, based on the high number of records ( Fig. 5A ).

The adult individuals have an extended flight period from late March ( Denmark, Netherlands)/April ( U.K., Norway, Finland, Sweden) to October (all countries). Moreover, the records show a two-peaked distribution (April and September) in the two areas. Two emergence periods are reported for some sites in the U.K. ( Stubbs 1993), potentially suggesting two generations. However in Denmark, a bivoltine life cycle is not likely as adults as well as instar 4 larvae are abundant during the period May-August. Additionally, a detailed study undertaken in south-east Sweden using Malaise traps did not find any indication of two emergence periods ( Salmela 2010).

Figures

FIGURE 5. Distribution of Ptychoptera species within the geographical area defined as Northern Europe, delineated by grey line. A. Ptychoptera albimana; B. P. lacustris; C. P. longicauda; D. P. paludosa. Blue dots show specific records, blue raster indicates confirmed but unspecified presence and red raster indicates likely presence.