Union of the snake

There's a group of insects that I've wanted to see for some time but have never laid eyes on. Well that's not completely true. I have seen the larvae when out looking for beetles but I've never manage to see an adult.

Which family am I talking about? The Snakeflies (Raphidiidae).

There are only four UK species - Subilla confinis, Atlantoraphidia maculicollis, Phaeostigma notata and Xanthostigma xanthostigma but there is very little in the way of info on the web about them.

The adults look rather odd and elongated. This is due to their long prothorax. The females have really long ovipositors and use these to lay the eggs in holes and cracks in trees.  Once hatched, the larvae (that look a bit like Xantholinus staphs on steroids) take two years to mature and during this time mainly tuck into beetle larvae.

The adults spend almost all of the time in the canopy of the various trees species that they associate with and so are difficult to see.

So whilst on my lunch time walk today I found a recently emerged adult female snakefly sitting on a fence post waiting for her wings and exoskeleton to harden.

I found an out of print Royal Entomological Society Key online and had a go at keying it through. To get to species it's all about the wing venation and the shape of the head.

The wing's sub-costa (the long vein just in from the edge) has 13 small veins.

This female has two cross veins going through the pterostigma (the dark spot-like area on the edge of the wings)

And the back of the head narrows gradually with no sudden constrictions.

So I think that this makes it Phaeostigma notata, one of the more regularly recorded species. I'm just really chuffed to finally seen one of these amazing creatures.

To celebrate a whole new insect family. Here's an aptly name tune. One of my favourites from days gone by. By the looks of it the March Violets have reformed so here's the recent live version. Enjoy.