Unciger foetidus (C.L.Koch, 1838)

Distribution and Habitat

This species was almost certainly introduced to its only known British location, a garden in Dersingham, Norfolk, where it was first recorded in 1983. It has been reported from synanthropic habitats elsewhere in north west Europe including Denmark (Enghoff, 1974) and Norway (Meidell, 1968). Blower (1985) mentions its occurrence in the Netherlands but this record is no longer considered valid (Berg, 1995; Jeekel, 2001) and it has not been recorded from France or Belgium. Unciger foetidus appears to be native to woodland in central Europe, occurring as far east as Ukraine. Haacker (1970) found it required high humidity consistent with it being a woodland species. It is also thermophilic but tolerates a wide range of soil acidity. It becomes increasingly synanthropic towards the north and west of its range (Kime, 1999) and it could conceivably be discovered in gardens elsewhere in Britain and Ireland. Adults have been collected in April in Norfolk.

This species account is based on Lee (2006).