The strange looking, 15mm-long, Phaeostigma notata is one of only four species of Snake Flies present in the UK; they are so-called because, when at rest, they can raise their head above the body in the manner of a snake about to strike. Snakeflies have been considered as ‘living fossils’ because of their close resemblance to species from the Jurassic period - or the age of the dinosaurs - over 140 million years ago.
The specimen illustrated is a female snakefly with a long ovipositor which it uses to lay eggs in the crevices of tree bark. After hatching, the larvae feed on the eggs and larvae of other insects. Likewise, the adults are also predatory, mainly feeding on aphids and mites high in the canopy of trees (unless inclement weather brings them down to lower levels!).
