Cigarillo Gall-fly (Lipara similis)
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: | Lipara similis |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Schiner, 1854 |
| 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: | 12 records since 2006 from various sites in Southern England. Originally there were three main centres of which only one (Wicken Fen) has had more recent records. Another Chloropid fly Cryptonevra consimilis is entirely dependant on L. similis hence listing on S41. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | In general the species requires high quality ancient fenland with areas of Phragmites. These areas may be threatened by drainage, abstraction and pollution there may be a need for ongoing management of surrounding areas to prevent encroachment by scrub. |
| 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: | Management of water levels protecting and enhancing adjacent areas as well as actual sites; mitigation against pollution from agricultural run-off from adjacent sites and if possible expension of fen area. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 4. Autecology and pressures understood |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Life history factor/s |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Larvae develop in stems of Phragmites, galls found in dense vegetation but may be more abundant in thin or stressed phragmites with coarse grass and thin scrub. C. consimilis utilises the stems already occupied by L. similis. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Tailored surveys of potential habitat in known or potential habitat localities to determine the populations and species distribution, thus identifying areas where L. similis is missing as well as present.
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Targeted monitoring
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: Cambridgeshire, Wicken Fen TL559706 (is already protected but as with other similar sites may need further support). N. Norfolk, Blakeney TG034441, Berkshire, Chiswell Valley Fen, SP50290371, N. Lincolnshire, Far Ings NNR TA011233, W. Cornwall, Perranwell, Peryn SW790389
Comments: Baseline surveys of potential sites both to establish where present but also where missing.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Site management to protect the specific needs of this species. This would be a recognition of the value of stressed phragmites and the edges of reedbeds, and maintenance of a drought-stressed marginal fringe through water level management and edge grading, if that is indeed confirmed as the key habitat
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: Cambridgeshire, Wicken Fen TL559706 (is already protected but as with other similar sites may need further support). N. Norfolk, Blakeney TG034441, Berkshire, Chiswell Valley Fen, SP50290371, N. Lincolnshire, Far Ings NNR TA011233, W. Cornwall, Perranwell, Peryn SW790389
Comments: Also applicable to any new sites discovered. Promotion of areas of phragmites including areas of thin as well as dense cover. This may entail management to prevent encroachment of scrub.
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Rotational management of ponds and ditches to maintain water levels and continued availability of suitable areas of phragmites.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: Cambridgeshire, Wicken Fen TL559706 (is already protected but as with other similar sites may need further support). N. Norfolk, Blakeney TG034441, Berkshire, Chiswell Valley Fen, SP50290371, N. Lincolnshire, Far Ings NNR TA011233, W. Cornwall, Perranwell, Peryn SW790389 if populations are discovered.
Comments: Difficult to pin down exact approaches until occupied sites are discovered and individually assessed.
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.