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Tanypteryx hageni (Black Petaltail)BC conservation rank: S2S3. Blue List.Description: The body is black with yellow spots, the face yellow with separated brown eyes. Male's upper appendages are flat and strongly angled outward. Female has a short, curved ovipositor. Length: male 56 mm, female 53 mm. Global Range: British Columbia south to Nevada and California (Needham et al. 2000). Faunal element: Cordilleran (see Appendix 2). BC Distribution: In Canada, found only on BC's mainland coast north to about 53°N. Biology: Lives at mid to high elevations in the Cascade and southern Coast mountains, and at sea level on the central coast. Larvae burrow in mud and moss saturated by trickling water seeping from hillsides (e.g., Wf50); many burrows can be concentrated in a small area. Adults perch on tree trunks, logs, rocks and the ground. They can be tame and frequently land on people. BC flight period: late June to early September; all records range from late June to mid August. Management and protection considerations: The main conservation concerns for this species are related to development and industrial activity in its subalpine or coastal forest environment. Logging is perhaps the greatest threat; the fragile fen seepage habitats are easily damaged or destroyed. Ski developments in the coastal mountains have potential impacts on the small fen habitats that the larvae inhabit. On the other hand, potentially damaging development such as road construction can provide new breeding microhabitats for the species. For example, the only known larval colony in Canada is in an abandoned logging road cut in Cypress Provincial Park near Vancouver. Once the soil is colonized to some extent by mosses and liverworts, the roadside offers the open, sloping ground and constant water seepage that the species prefers.
Tanypteryx hageni Map 3. Frequency of records in British Columbia by NTS 1/50,000 mapsheet. |
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