Lejops (Lejops) vittatus (Meigen, 1822).
Meigen, J.W. (1822) Systematische Beschreibung der bekannten europaischen zweiflugeligen Insekten. Dritter Theil. Schulz-Wundermann, Hamm. x + 416 pp., pls. 22-32.
Flowers visited by adults: Phragmites, Scirpus maritimus, male Typha (Speight 2010).
Flight period: from mid June to mid August, with the peak in July (Speight 2010).
L. vittatus ranges from Fennoscandia south to central France; Balearic Islands (Mallorca); from Britain (southern England) eastwards through central Europe (Germany, Poland, Austria, Hungary) and Italy and the former Yugoslavia into Bulgaria, Roumania and southern parts of European Russia; Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kirghizia, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan into southern parts of Siberia and on to the Pacific (Speight 2010).
Adults fly among emergent vegetation of reeds etc. along the edges of freshwater bodies and standing-water ditches, keeping low; settles on reeds, Typha etc. (Speight 2010).
Waitzbauer (1976) records that the eggs of this species are laid on the stems and leaves of emergent plants like Typha, the larvae falling into the water once hatched. The larvae apparently remain more-or-less at the water surface, in association with floating plants such as Lemna, for most of their development, but by the last instar have moved into the submerged organic ooze/mud at the bottom of the pond or ditch in which they are living (Speight 2010).
Preferred environment: freshwater; standing and slow-running freshwater bodies supporting stands of Phragmites, Typha or Scirpus, including coastal lagoons with S. maritimus and ox-bows on functionalfloodplains of large rivers (Speight 2010).
unless otherwise stated