Lonchaea fraxina
Palearctic species : A hairy-eyed dark legged Lonchaea with multiserial genal setulae.
A saproxylic species whose larvae almost exclusively found underneath the bark of ash, Fraxinus exelsior
May be increasingly under threat as European ash trees are affected by ash die-back disease caused by the fungus Chalara fraxinea.
None
Requires a continual annual supply of freshly dead Fraxinus trees. limbs or branches
Loss of main host species due to plant disease
Holotype male. Eyes covered in long dense brownish hairs these greater in length than half depth of antennal segment 3. Frons wide, between antennae almost as wide as 3rd antennal segment is deep, narrowing only slightly from the width at the level of the orbital bristles. Entire frons covered in long black hairs which are almost as long and strong as the orbital bristles. Face below antennae widening greatly, a central median keel present with lateral raised keels defining the edge of the face. Jowls wide, as wide as depth of antennal segment 3, covered in long, dense black hairs. Palps fringed with long black hairs. Antennae entirely black, rather quadrate, segment 3 breadth 70% of width. Arista almost bare and rather short, less than 1.5x as long as antennal segment 3. Disc of thorax covered in long, dense black hairs almost as long as the bristles in the prescutellar area. Pleurae also covered in long black hairs making it difficult to distinguish the pleural bristles. One propleural bristle and a group of four stigmatical bristles. Halteres black, squammae dark grey with a black edge, squammal hairs black and dense. Stigmal section of wing 4 times as long as crossvein. Abdomen with long black hairs, disc of all tergites dulled by dusting . Legs including all tarsi black. Fore and mid femora with long, black posterior hairs, these 2x the depth of the femora. Hind femora shorter haired posteriorly.
Male terminalia : Epandrium rather square, cerci projecting as a rounded and well haired lobe. Posteroventral projection of surstylus extending well beyond epandrium margin with a projecting rounded process arising from a broader more flattened basal area which is usually just visible projecting above the epandrium margin. Aedeagus two segmented, apical part sinuous but relatively short and broad
Female similar but has shorter hairs on thorax and body. Apical section of ovipositor in dorsal aspect twice as long as wide, dorsal surface at base with two long bristles which are approximately the length of the apical segment, another pair of shorter bristles mid way along the segment. Apex with approx. 10 pairs of hairs mostly short but with one longer pair about half length of apical segment dorsally and ventrally. Ventral surface with 3 pairs of longer hairs ).
Most probably an annual life cycle
Adults on the wing in early spring species, almost always within deciduous woodland containing the main host tree Fraxinus excelsior
Deciduous woodland