Dolichopus argyrotarsis
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - true fly (Diptera) > Long-legged fly |
| Red List Status: | Near Threatened (Not Relevant) [NT(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Dolichopus argyrotarsis |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Wahlberg, 1850 |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Drake, 2018 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Three English records: Somerset 2022, Hartford Bottom, SS946291Shropshire 2015 Reebrook Valley SJ504107; Yorkshire 2016, Jeffrey Bog, SE759667 |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Outside of England the fly seems to have a more Northerly distribution with most records in N. Scotland; habitats are known, so surveying of past and potentially suitable sites may show further populations/distribution in Northern England |
| 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: | Known habitats include exposed riverine sediment and pools within sediments, in sandy and large stony rivers. (It is sometimes found by upland streams). Maintaining these sites, water levels and adjacent riverbank marsh and vegetation should be beneficial. |
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: | The species is widespread in Europe; from France Eastwards so potentially may have a greater distribution in England than has been discovered so far. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Tailored surveys of habitat in known or potential habitat localities to determine the populations and species distribution, thus identifying areas where D. argyrotarsis is missing as well as present.
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Targeted monitoring
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites: Three English records: Somerset 2022, Hartford Bottom, SS946291Shropshire 2015 Reebrook Valley SJ504107; Yorkshire 2016, Jeffrey Bog, SE759667
Comments: Surveys of known/potential sites to establish whether still present or if the distribution is wider than currently known.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: If populations are found study of ecology in these specific areas to understand the common elements present that are exploited by the species, Known habitats include exposed riverine sediment and pools within sediments, in sandy and large stony rivers. (It is sometimes found by upland streams)
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites: Three English records: Somerset 2022, Hartford Bottom, SS946291Shropshire 2015 Reebrook Valley SJ504107; Yorkshire 2016, Jeffrey Bog, SE759667
Comments: Needed to allow further surveys in potential sites and to allow more targeted approaches to protect existing populations.
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Liaise with relevant land managers and Environment Agency, in relation to protection of known sites from fallout from river engineering/damming, gravel winning and abstraction.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Advice & support
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Three English records: Somerset 2022, Hartford Bottom, SS946291Shropshire 2015 Reebrook Valley SJ504107; Yorkshire 2016, Jeffrey Bog, SE759667
Comments: Advice to landowners/managers on conserving the habitat required by species (and potential dozens of others). Focussed around any specifics found by previous studies and the importance of retaining rivers in a natural state in relation to flow, retaining of marshy areas and bankside vegetation.
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.