Tipula (Savtshenkia) benesignata Mannheims 1954

Tipula (Savtshenkia) benesignata Mannheims, 1954

MATERIAL EXAMINED (1 ♂). Kraków Bridge (Pomost Krakowski). Kraków – Bronowice Małe, Struga Bronowicka stream, UTM DA14, 25 IX 2020, 1 ♂, leg. det. M. Syratt.

Widespread in Europe, recorded from Greece to Scandinavia and France, as well as Russia (Kareliya, Leningradskaya oblast, Moskovskaya oblast, North Caucasus), Turkey (Bursa, Canakkale) and Kyrgyzstan (Tien Mountains). First record for Poland.

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The habitat and further biology have been relatively well studied by Przhiboro (2003, 2009); larvae are known to be abundant in tufts of wet moss in the water margin zones of lakes, limnocrene springs and streams. The species has been characterised as a possible polysaprophage with elements of bryophagy and facultative predation – an examination of larval gut contents identified the three main components to be fragments of mosses, remains of ceratopogonid pupae (in some cases along with appendages of pharate adults), and conifer pollen grains. Other habitats from which the species has been reported are suburban gardens (Hofsvang 1987) and mountainous coniferous forests including mossy fir forests and larch forests (Ujvárosi 2002, Dufour 2003, Tillier et Oosterbroek 2019). The site in Kraków (Fig. 4) is a shallow stream in a human-modified fragment of alder riparian forest (Dubiel 2001). Tufts of wet moss on rocks and logs are present but overall scarce. Flight period is from August to October.