Tree Snipefly (Chrysopilus laetus)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - true fly (Diptera) > Soldier fly or ally |
| 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: | Chrysopilus laetus |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Zetterstedt, 1842 |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Drake, 2017 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | Loss of older trees of the required species for safety reasons in parks and the countryside outside of protected areas, thus removing larval substrates seems to be the biggest threat. There is still a potential risk of the species reverting to its prior (rare) population levels. But wind throw or anticipated wind-throw are the main drivers now. Is an issuer for all saproxylics, so a general point. it argues further on that there is natural range expansion so why does it need recovering if this is the case? |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Due to the potential for loss of habitat and larval requirements within this, ongoing monitoring of populations and as part of this utilisation of recording schemes would be beneficial |
| 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: | The species has shown potential for increased distribution and appears to be expanding it's range. |
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.