Yellow Spear-winged Fly - Lonchoptera lutea

Description

Adults vary a great deal in colour, from yellow to dark brown. Scutellum brown to yellow. The antennal segments are all dark. The pointed wings have no central cross vein.

Identification difficulty
ID checklist (your specimen should have all of these features)
  • 3-4mm with 'pointed' wings
  • mid tibia with an anterior-ventral bristle only in the basal half
  • bristles on the upper wing along vein r1 are all of similar size
  • scutellum dark brown (not black)
  • mid tibia straight
  • first tarsal segment of the middle leg is not longer than half the length of the mid tibia
  • antennae are dark
Habitat

Unlike most of these genera, Lonchoptera lutea shows a marked preference for unshaded habitats.

When to see it

Spring to autumn.

Life History

Larvae live in leaf litter.

VC55 Status

Unknown

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020

UK Map

Species profile

Species group:
insect - true fly (Diptera)
Kingdom:
Animalia
Order:
Diptera
Family:
Lonchopteridae
Records on NatureSpot:
3
First record:
28/08/2021 (Gould, David)
Last record:
01/04/2026 (Nicholls, David)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

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