Bordered Brown Lacewing - Megalomus hirtus

Background & Habitat: 
The bordered brown lacewing is a small insect around 1cm in length (fig. 1). Bordered brown lacewing are usually located on rocky, exposed, coastal slopes, found with aphids and other insects on wood sage (Teucrium scorodonia), a perennial plant. 

Life Cycle: 
Adult females will lay their eggs on the underside of wood sage leaves. The lacewings will be in their larval stage for up to four years, before pupating then cocooning overwinter. They emerge as adults in the following spring, with a typical adult lifespan of 1 year (Burgess & Littlewood, 2019).

Range and Distribution:
Bordered brown lacewing are a rare species in the UK, having previously been recorded in only three sites across the UK before 2019. These records are all in Scotland: Holyrood Park in Edinburgh, Doonie Point by the Bridge of Muchalls, and St. Cyrus (Burgess & Lindsay, 2019). However, populations of this insect have been discovered since this time at sites along a 13km stretch between Stonehaven and Portlethen in Aberdeenshire - shown in green in fig. 2. At each site the species is not found in abundance, however it is believed that the bordered brown lacewing could be at other sites along the east coast of Scotland waiting to be discovered.

Factors affecting Bordered Brown Lacewing:
Bordered brown lacewing appear to be vulnerable to a change or loss in habitat. The rocky exposed cliffs they are found in are fragile habitats that can be threatened by coastal erosion or the spread of vegetation such as Gorse (Ulex europaeus) (SotE, n.d.).
A change in the management of the land can have an impact, for example introducing sheep grazing to a site which has not been grazed previously (Littlewood & Stockan, 2013) as this may influence the vegetation that grows in the area and therefore the bordered brown lacewing life cycle.

Conservation Status: 
UK Biodiversity Action Plan: Species of Conservation Concern (BRIG, 2007)
Scottish Biodiversity List: Priority Species (NatureScot, 2020)

Conservation Efforts: 
Work is being carried out to raise awareness of this rare and elusive insect by Buglife and the Species on the Edge partnership, through surveys and workshops (Buglife, n.d.). It is hoped that by understanding where the bordered brown lacewing are distributed, then the species can be better protected in the future.