Cornish Biodiversity Network - Supporting Wildlife Recording
The descriptive text, below the map, is from the Cornish Red Data Book (2009). The map on this web page depicts the organisms distribution and shows the records made pre-2000 and those made since.
Range & Status
Widespread in Europe but confined in the British Isles to the southern counties. Where found, it is often abundant.
Regional Distribution
Widespread in Cornwall' s dune systems and also on the base-rich grasslands of The Lizard coast.
Habitat & Ecology
A species of open, dry, well-drained, sunny situations including coastal sand dunes
and sea cliffs. Prefers sparse and fairly low vegetation. Adults overwinter in moss. The host plants not known, but it has been found in association with Wood Sage Teucrium scorodonia , Buck' s-horn Plantain Plantago coronopus and Common Stork' s-bill Erodium cicutarium .
Threats
Heavy trampling by visitors may be a problem, but light trampling and/or grazing is probably important in maintaining suitable habitat structure.
Conservation
See introductory section for general principles of habitat management.
I.J. Bennallick, S. Board, C.N. French, P.A. Gainey, C. Neil, R. Parslow, A. Spalding and P.E. Tompsett. eds. 2009. Red Data Book for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. 2nd Edition.Croceago Press.
The Cornish Red Data Book Project was led by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Federation for Biological Recorders (CISFBR). The full text and species accounts (minus the maps) are available on the CISFBR website.