Live table showing reported sightings
Its the 23rd April 2021 and the reported sightings of a Marsh Cranefly (the 2 lifecycle a year ones) hatch are now coming in. The first sightings came in a round 4 weeks ago now in the very mild areas of the country and from some areas using undersoil heating but it all stalled when the temperatures drop. I suspect as the temperature rises over the next week we'll things kicking off, That should been reduced leatherjacket pressure for those of you who have alot of them, its also a sign the the temperatures are on the rise so grass growth should swing in your favour.
PLease log your sightings in the form above.
There has been increased reports recently of wandering leatherjackets in excess of what would be expected - I'm increasingly of the belief that these are leatherjackets looking for somewhere to go into their Pupal stage prior to hatching, yet to be confirmed but I've had a chat with a few entomologists who think this is a distinct possibility.
The other thing I'm really interested is to see what species hatch and if the Marsh cranefly is the only one hatching (oleracea) I'm led to believe this is the case. Both should hatch in the Autumn then the Marsh should hatch again in the Spring. Difficult to tell from Twitter but I saw mainly European cranefly (paludosa) hatch in the Autumn and very few (if any) Marsh cranefly. Let me know below what you see in the form below.
Quick guide to id'ing
- Female – Shorter wings, Separate eyes = paludosa
- Female – Longer wings, Eyes connected = oleracea
- Male – don’t bother trying
