Rhaphium fascipes
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - true fly (Diptera) > Long-legged fly |
| Red List Status: | Vulnerable (Not Relevant) [VU(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: | Rhaphium fascipes |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Meigen, 1824) |
| 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: | Known from 7 hectads since 2014, definite Southern bias to distribution, scarcity of records and patchy distribution suggest that this is an uncommon species but targeted actions could be used to ascertain the potential for conservation. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | The NERC 195 status review 2018, lists habitats as wetland, acid grassland, marsh, fen and bog; some records from Devon in 2014/2015 are from wet woodland and old quarry workings so exploration of these may offer insight into a wider habitat range. |
| 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: | Protection and ongoing management of areas of acid grassland, marsh, bog, fen and wet woodland and reclamation of these habitats could be of benefit around known population areas. |
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: | Distribution appears to be in decline from prior to 1990, discoveries of populations at previously unreported sites may show potential for recovery although it does appear from available records that populations have always been scattered and that it is a naturally uncommon species. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Tailored surveys of habitat in known localities to determine the population and species distribution, thus identifying whether R. fascipes is present or absent so that further targeted actions can be implemented.
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Targeted monitoring
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: Records from within the past 10 years are from a holiday park in Dorset SY758877; Devon, Scadsbury Copse and Moor (East), Northlew SS520015; Meeth Quarry, Meeth SS533084; Hannaborough Moor, Hatherleigh SS522026 and Hampshire, Denny Bog SU337054
Comments: Targeted surveying to establish whether populations remain both within sites and if they have spread to adjacent areas of similar habitat.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: On populated sites, enhance open wetland habitats and prevent encroachment of scrub through controlled grazing where feasible.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: Records from within the past 10 years are from a holiday park in Dorset SY758877; Devon, Scadsbury Copse and Moor (East), Northlew SS520015; Meeth Quarry, Meeth SS533084; Hannaborough Moor, Hatherleigh SS522026 and Hampshire, Denny Bog SU337054
Comments: Decline of site quality/condition leading to further habitat fragmentation or loss should be mitigated against to prevent populations becoming more isolated.
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Mitigation against drying out of wetland sites, dependant on where populations are discovered in surveys. Actions on site and through liaison with site managers.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: Records from within the past 10 years are from a holiday park in Dorset SY758877; Devon, Scadsbury Copse and Moor (East), Northlew SS520015; Meeth Quarry, Meeth SS533084; Hannaborough Moor, Hatherleigh SS522026 and Hampshire, Denny Bog SU337054
Comments: Control of dams and drainage dyles to prevent lowering of water levels, liaison with local land managers and farmers in relation to prevention of excess abstraction and water use.
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.