Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods) ➔ Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods) ➔ Class Insecta (Insects) ➔ Order Raphidioptera (Snakeflies) ➔ Family Raphidiidae

Phaeostigma (Phaeostigma) notata (Fabricius, 1781)

Gefleckte Kamelhalsfliege Spotted Snake-fly

Synonyms and other combinations: ∇
  • Phaeostigma notata, female 453
    Phaeostigma notata (Fabricius, 1781)  Gefleckte Kamelhalsfliege  Spotted Snake-fly 
    Phaeostigma notata, female, conf. Arp Kruithof
    DE, Chemnitz; 2004-05-16 11:14:44
    Image number: 453
    female
    DE, Chemnitz
    2004-05-16 11:14:44
    conf. Arp Kruithof
  • Phaeostigma notata, female 454
    Phaeostigma notata (Fabricius, 1781)  Gefleckte Kamelhalsfliege  Spotted Snake-fly 
    Phaeostigma notata, female
    DE, Chemnitz; 2004-05-16 11:15:42
    Image number: 454
    female
    DE, Chemnitz
    2004-05-16 11:15:42
  • Phaeostigma notata, female 8669
    Phaeostigma notata (Fabricius, 1781)  Gefleckte Kamelhalsfliege  Spotted Snake-fly 
    Phaeostigma notata, female
    DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz; 2018-05-28 12:27:21
    Image number: 8669
    female
    DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz
    2018-05-28 12:27:21
  • Phaeostigma notata, female 8670
    Phaeostigma notata (Fabricius, 1781)  Gefleckte Kamelhalsfliege  Spotted Snake-fly 
    Phaeostigma notata, female
    DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz; 2018-06-06 10:01:15
    Image number: 8670
    female
    DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz
    2018-06-06 10:01:15
  • Phaeostigma notata, female 8671
    Phaeostigma notata (Fabricius, 1781)  Gefleckte Kamelhalsfliege  Spotted Snake-fly 
    Phaeostigma notata, female
    DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz; 2018-05-28 12:29:01
    Image number: 8671
    female
    DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz
    2018-05-28 12:29:01
  • Phaeostigma notata, female 8672
    Phaeostigma notata (Fabricius, 1781)  Gefleckte Kamelhalsfliege  Spotted Snake-fly 
    Phaeostigma notata, female
    DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz; 2018-05-28 00:00:00
    Image number: 8672
    female
    DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz
    2018-05-28 00:00:00
  • Phaeostigma notata, female 8717
    Phaeostigma notata (Fabricius, 1781)  Gefleckte Kamelhalsfliege  Spotted Snake-fly 
    Phaeostigma notata, female
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2019-05-27 11:40:58
    Image number: 8717
    female
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2019-05-27 11:40:58
  • Phaeostigma notata, female 8718
    Phaeostigma notata (Fabricius, 1781)  Gefleckte Kamelhalsfliege  Spotted Snake-fly 
    Phaeostigma notata, female
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2019-05-27 11:45:18
    Image number: 8718
    female
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2019-05-27 11:45:18
  • Phaeostigma notata, female 8719
    Phaeostigma notata (Fabricius, 1781)  Gefleckte Kamelhalsfliege  Spotted Snake-fly 
    Phaeostigma notata, female
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2019-05-27 11:45:44
    Image number: 8719
    female
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2019-05-27 11:45:44

Further vernacular names:
Common European Snakefly
Distribution:
Europe (except Russia).
Habitat:
The species can be found on many different deciduous trees and conifers from lowlands to altitudes of 2000 metres.
Description:
Forewing-length 9 - 14.5 mm; pterostigma with 2 cross-veins; body slim, mainly black colored; abdomen with yellowish areas; prothorax strongly extended and freely movable; head flattened.
Biology:
Adults of the Spotted Snake-fly Phaeostigma notata can be found from April to August. Their main flying season is from May to July. They feed on insects, preferably aphids and other Sternorrhyncha, but have also been observed eating pollen.
The females possess a long ovipositor with which they lay their eggs deeply into crevices and cracks of tree-bark. The larvae develop under loose bark. They are predators which prefer to hunt soft-bodied arthropods. Phaeostigma notata normally hibernates twice as a larva and pupates in spring. The pupa is mobile shortly before last molting.
Parasites and parasitoids:
Gregarina raphidiae Achtelig (Protozoa: Apicomplexa: Eugregarinida: Gregarinidae) and some ichneumonid wasps (Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae) of the genus Nemeritus parasitize the larvae of Phaeostigma notata.
Furthermore, the hyperparasites Perilampus polypori Bouček and Perilampus cephalotes Bouček belonging to the chalcid wasps (Chalcidoidea: Perilampidae) were detected.
Note:
The snake-fly of 2018 is the victim of a parasitically living fungus, which probably belongs to the Entomophthorales. The white fungal spores are clearly visible behind the transparent wings. The fungus feeds on the body fluid of the host, whose abdomen swells considerably, as can be seen in the last picture from 2018.

References, further reading, links:
  1. Oswald J.D. (2019). LDL Neuropterida Species of the World (version Jul 2018). In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life, 2019 Annual Checklist (Roskov Y., Ower G., Orrell T., Nicolson D., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., DeWalt R.E., Decock W., Nieukerken E. van, Zarucchi J., Penev L., eds.). Digital resource at www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2019. Species 2000: Naturalis, Leiden, the Netherlands. ISSN 2405-884X.
  2. H. Aspöck & U. Aspöck: Raphidioptera – Kamelhalsfliegen Ein Überblick zum Einstieg, Entomologica Austriaca, 16, 53-72, Linz, 2009.
  3. H. Aspöck: The Biology of Raphidioptera: A Review of Present Knowledge, Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 48 (Suppl. 2), pp. 35–50, 2002.