Picture-winged Fly (Dorycera graminum)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - true fly (Diptera) > Fly |
| Red List Status: | (Not Relevant) [(not listed)(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Dorycera graminum |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Fabricius, 1794) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | (not listed) |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Approximately 145 records of the species have been made in the past 10 years, most from 2013 onwards. The distribution (allowing for a few incorrect records) covers and may slightly exceed that from pre 1970's levels. This may indicate that the species is making a recovery; however, Ismay, J., 2000 did note that the species does disappear from sites and that there are few records from successive years, which may make targeted surveys difficult and give an inflated picture of the actual situation. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | Little is known about the biology although there is an association with herb-rich unimproved meadows, grasslands adjacent to ancient woodland and parkland. It has also been recorded from brownfield sites and appears to like disturbed ground/areas. Specific actions would be difficult to ascertain, more general approaches may help; however, with the potential population inconsistency year-on-year, it would be difficult to assess exactly what changes to introduce. |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Maintaining meadows and grasslands and discouraging scrub encroachment, maintaining water levels to protect or even increase marshy areas and on large area brownfield sites, ensuring that regular disturbance is provided, could be a useful approach. Encouragement of flowering plants such as Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium) and Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum) in areas where the fly is potentially located. |
Species Assessment
Not relevant as no Key Actions defined.
Key Actions
No Key Actions Defined
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.