Broads Long-legged Fly (Dolichopus laticola)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - true fly (Diptera) > Long-legged fly |
| Red List Status: | Endangered (Not Relevant) [EN(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 laticola |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Verrall, 1904 |
| 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: | Two studies in 2007-9 and 2010-11 are responsible for the majority of records, since then there are two records from 2022 but this may simply be down to recorder effort; also most sites are protected so may not be accessed by recorders very often. S41 listed and endangered. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | The fly seems to favour high quality fen, with tall herb vegetation and moderate amounts of leaf litter. The preference is for tall herbage that isn't neglected but is cut on a longer cycle i.e.not cut annually. |
| 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: | Maintenance, protection and expansion of suitable habitat, the fly is restricted to five main sites (plus records from an outlier) and therefore is vulnerable to habitat loss. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 5. Remedial action identified |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Life history factor/s |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Limited to Norfolk Broads: Sutton Fen, Barton Fen, Catfield Great Fen, Woodbastwick Fen. Suffolk; Walberswick NNR. Has specific habitat requirements within fens. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Tailored surveys of suitable habitat in known or potential habitat localities to determine the populations and species distribution, thus identifying areas where D. laticola is missing as well as present.
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Targeted monitoring
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: Norfolk Broads: Sutton Fen, Barton Fen, Catfield Great Fen, Woodbastwick Fen VC27. Suffolk; Walberswick NNR VC25.
Comments: Surveys of known/potential sites to establish whether still present or if the distribution/population has reduced
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Expand habitat management and restoration at suitable sites to promote recovery of this species, to include regular (no more than bi-annual) cutting of fen habitat required for optimal habitat provision, as neglected fen not utilised by this species.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: Norfolk Broads: Sutton Fen, Barton Fen, Catfield Great Fen, Woodbastwick Fen VC27. Suffolk; Walberswick NNR VC25.
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Implement optimal fen management methods to prevent encroachment of scrub leading to habitat loss at species sites
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Norfolk Broads: Sutton Fen, Barton Fen, Catfield Great Fen, Woodbastwick Fen VC27. Suffolk; Walberswick NNR VC25.
Comments: The habitat is fragile and the flies have specific requirements in relation to vegetation, neglected areas and those where reed has been left overrun by scrud are unlikely to be used.
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.