Stiletto fly  (Spiriverpa lunulata)

Threats

The threats facing this species include the removal of sandy sediments from rivers for aggregates, and the deepening and canalisation of rivers (3).

Conservation

This stiletto fly is a UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP) priority species, and a Species Action Plan has been written in order to outline action required to conserve it, with the over-riding aim being the maintenance of all current populations (3). The organisation responsible for the delivery of these actions (the 'lead partner') is the Environment Agency. Future work on this fly will aim to determine the ecological requirements and distribution of the species more precisely, and to produce guidance on sympathetic river management (2). A number of known sites are Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), and a few populations occur in candidate Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), including those on the rivers Usk and Tywi in Wales (3).

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