Irish Major (Oxycera fallenii)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - true fly (Diptera) > Soldier fly or ally |
| 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: | Oxycera fallenii |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Staeger, 1844 |
| 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: | Yes |
| Justification: | Recorded from two sites in North Yorkshire in 1996 and 1997 respectively. No further records have been made since these, which were the first English records. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Rarely recorded with no records from the recent known sites since 1997, surveying of these sites would be the basis for more specific actions if the populations have persisted. |
| 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: | No |
| Justification: | This species would not benefit from untargeted management |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 2. Biological status assessment exists |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Relict or natural rarity |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Only recorded twice in England 26 years ago, habitat is described as seepages or small streams with base-rich influence. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Tailored surveys of the required habitat in the adult flight period to be completely sure whether the previous (very low) population is in fact extinct or not.
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Targeted monitoring
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: North Yorkshire, Ashberry pastures(SE571849) Dalbty Bush Farm (SE646715)
Comments: A tailored survey within the known flight period to encompass the areas where previous sightings have been made along with any adjacent/linked areas with similar habitats to see if populations are still present.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: If inhabited sites are found then creation and enhancement of viable habitat for the species through scrub clearance and potentially grazing.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: North Yorkshire, Ashberry pastures(SE571849) Dalbty Bush Farm (SE646715)
Comments: The feature, common to previously known English and Irish sites appears to be seepages or small streams, often with obvious base-rich influence at English sites. Keeping these clear of vegetation will be necessary to maintain optimal breeding sites if populations are found.
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Liaising with local landowners and farmers in relation to water abstraction, slurry, run-off and potential of ingress by avermectins and other harmful chemicals all of which may lead to loss of populations.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Pressure mitigation
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: North Yorkshire, Ashberry pastures(SE571849) Dalbty Bush Farm (SE646715)
Comments:
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.