Cornish Biodiversity Network  -  Supporting Wildlife Recording

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Cornish Red Data (2009)

The descriptive text, below the map, is from the Cornish Red Data Book (2009). The map on this web page depicts the organisms distribution and shows the records made pre-2000 and those made since.

Aphanus rolandri - A ground bug



Range & Status

This southern and coastal European bug has a strongly southern distribution in Britain.

Regional Distribution

Rediscovered in the West Pentire arable fields in 2003, and abundant there in 2004; also found along the coastal footpath at Pentireglaze Haven in 2006. Otherwise only known from old records.

Habitat & Ecology

The key features of its wide range of habitats are that they are sunny, sheltered and well-drained, and that they have a covering of dry leaf litter. Sites include weedy arable or derelict fields and beneath Gorse Ulex spp. scrub. It is believed to be primarily vegetarian. Adults overwinter in moss, leaf litter or deadwood.

Threats

The main threat is the intensification of agriculture, especially the widespread use of pesticides, as well as natural succession, leading to loss of sheltered open areas amongst scrub.

Conservation

Maintenance of early successional stages, e.g. periodic and rotational scrub clearance and also soil disturbance. More conservation projects designed to favour rare arable weed communities would be beneficial. Both modern sites are owned by The National Trust.

Source:

I.J. Bennallick, S. Board, C.N. French, P.A. Gainey, C. Neil, R. Parslow, A. Spalding and P.E. Tompsett. eds. 2009. Red Data Book for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. 2nd Edition.Croceago Press.

The Cornish Red Data Book Project was led by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Federation for Biological Recorders (CISFBR). The full text and species accounts (minus the maps) are available on the CISFBR website.



Cornish Biodiversity Network. 2017.