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Downlooker Snipefly

Downlooker Snipefly ©Chris Lawrence

Downlooker snipefly

The Downlooker snipefly gets its name from its habit of sitting on posts or sunny trees with its head facing down to the ground, waiting for passing prey. It prefers grassland, scrub and woodland habitats.

Enw gwyddonol

Rhagio scolopaceus

Pryd i'w gweld

May to August

Gwybodaeth am rywogaethau

Ystadegau

Length: up to 1.6cm
Common.

Ynghylch

Snipe-flies are active predators and can often be found sitting head-down on fence posts or sunny tree trunks, watching for passing prey. They catch smaller insects in flight, taking them back to their lookout post to eat. The larvae live in soil and leaf litter, and are also predatory. The Downlooker snipefly is the most common species and can be found in grassland, scrub and woodland.

Sut i'w hadnabod

The Downlooker snipe-fly is mainly orangey-brown in colour, with dark markings down the length of the body and spots on the wings. There are 15 species of snipe-fly in the UK, which can be very difficult to tell apart.

Dosbarthiad

Widespread.

Roeddech chi yn gwybod?

It is probable that snipe-flies got their common name because they are frequently found in wet grassland: the kind of habitat that snipe favour too.