Craspedosoma rawlinsii Leach, 1814

Distribution 

This species appears to be widely distributed across Britain and Ireland but is not common. Clusters of records from particular regions largely reflect the activity of a specialist recorder in those areas. 

C.rawlinsii (including the subspecies alemannicum (Verhoeff, 1910)) has a wide distribution in central Europe but it does not extend into western France (Kime, 2004). Both subspecies are present in Belgium but all British and Irish animals examined have been of the subspecies rawlinsii. 

Habitat

Blower (1985) and Kime (2004) considered this species to be primarily a woodland animal but analysis of the habitat data suggests there is a strong association with wetlands. Even in woodland it is associated with microsites which provide the high humidity it prefers (Haacker, 1968). Harding and Jones (1994) noted its presence in East Anglian woodlands subject to considerable summer drought and considered it likely the animal would survive such conditions by burrowing deeply in the light soils. In Belgium, Kime et al. (1992) found the species was associated with soils of high sand and low calcium content. It is also reported from sites with acidic, sandy soils in Switzerland (Pedroli-Christen, 1977) and Germany (Spelda, 1999). Although 80% of British and Irish records for which data were supplied were from non-calcareous soils, a strong association is not evident from the analysis of environmental data due to the small number of such records. 

Phenology

The species has been recorded throughout the year but adults are usually found during the winter months. 

This species account is based on Lee (2006).