Ptychoptera contaminata (Linnaeus, 1758)

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 : 192-193

Ptychoptera contaminata

The species has a southern distribution within the regarded geographical area ( Fig. 6B ) and is recorded in all countries except Estonia and Russia (Kaliningrad) ( Zwick 2020). It seems to be especially abundant in U.K, Netherlands and Denmark. Its northern boundary is located at approx. 65° latitude. The distributional area extends to middle and southern Europe ( Italy, Balkan) ( Zwick 2020) and, to the east, into the European part of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Armenia and Turkey ( Paramonov 2013, Oboňa et al. 2017, Zwick 2020). Also, it is found in the Nearctic ( Zwick 2020).

In Denmark, the larvae are primarily found in marginal areas of small stagnant waters (permanent ponds, pools, canals and ditches), but they may also occur in small streams (width <3 m). In the U.K., breeding places are coastal ditches, lowland ponds, lakes, canals and very slow-flowing rivers, and they may occur at steep banks ( Stubbs 1993).

Adults have an extended flight period from May to August (Fennoscandia) or September ( Denmark, Netherlands, U.K.).

Figures

FIGURE 6. Distribution of Ptychoptera species within the geographical area defined as Northern Europe, delineated by grey line. A. Ptychoptera contaminata; B. P. hugoi; C. P. minuta; D. P. scutellaris. Blue dots show specific records, blue raster indicates confirmed but unspecified presence and red raster indicates likely presence.