Cis jacquemartii Mellié, 1849

This is a difficult species to identify and, at least on the continent, has in the past been confused with Cis nitidus (Fabricius, 1792) and C. glabratus Mellié, 1848 and for this reason the distribution remains uncertain in many areas but it is certainly widespread across central and northern Europe and it occurs in mountainous areas in the south. Throughout most of the continental range it is very local and rare, often being localized to upland and mountain regions, but it is generally common across southern Sweden and Finland and remains locally common further north far beyond the Arctic Circle. The southernmost records are probably from Greece and it is also known from Asia Minor and eastern Russia, suggesting a continuous transpalaearctic distribution. In the UK the species is more or less restricted to the Scottish Highlands although it has also been recorded from south-eastern Scotland, older records are unreliable due to difficulty in identification and those outside the known Scottish range should be treated with caution e.g. it was long known from Berkshire but this was found to be in error. Typical of the family, the species is associated with fungi; in the UK most records are from Fomes fomentarius (L.) Fr. 1849 sporocarps on dead or dying birch trees (Betula L.) but in Europe it is known from a wide range of hosts. Host fungi recorded in Northern Europe include Fomes fomentarius, Antrodiella pallescens (Pilát) Niemelä & Miettinen, Ganoderma applanatum (Pers. ) Pat., Mensularianradiata (Sowerby) Lázaro Ibiza, Phellinus tremulae (Bondartsev) Bondartsev & N. Borisov, P. igniarius (L.) Quél., P. pini (Brot.) Bondartsev & Singer, (1941), Trametes gibbosa (Pers. )Fr. (1836) and T. versicolor (L.) Lloyd (1920). A correspondingly wide range of both broadleaf and conifer trees has been recorded including beech (Fagus L.), birch, alder (Alnus Mill.), hornbeam (Carpinus L.), ash (Fraxinus L.), lime (Tilia L.), Hazel (Corylus L.), Mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia L.), Aspen (Populus tremula L.), willow (Salix L.), Norway maple (Acer platanoides L.), elm (Ulmus L.), oak (Quercus L.), pine (Pinus L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.)). Little is known of the biology (although typical of the family the larvae probably develop and pupate in fungi and adults overwinter) but adults appear in March are generally active from April until August (later on the continent), peaking in abundance during July. They are nocturnally active and fly well but there seem to be no records from light and despite being very local and rare they are usually common where they occur.