Current ISIS code: F002
Previous assemblage name: None. It was established in 2008 as a cross-cutting assemblage.
Linked assemblage: Frequently present with F112 open short sward, although it can turn up in F111 bare sand & chalk, especially in brownfield areas.
Description of habitat typically supporting the assemblage: This is a resource-based assemblage type that is expressed across a large range of habitats. The poor discrimination in favour of high conservation quality assemblages militates against the use of this assemblage type for site selection, but its good expression on a range of SSSI habitats gives it potential for use in condition monitoring. It is apparent that scores decline toward the north, so regional variations in the defaul.
The real value of the detection of this assemblage from any sample is that it flags up the importance of the floral resource to land managers and hopefully influences sward cut times in favour of invertebrate usage.
All species coded to this cross-cutting SAT are aculeate Hymenoptera.
Sampling & assessing the assemblage
Standard sampling protocols apply
Target groups: Hymenoptera
Fieldwork methods: Spot sweeping
Alternative methods: n/a
Season: Later Spring-Summer
Attention is paid exclusively on large flower patches. It is best to sample a wide range of colours and flower shapes to ensure getting a good cross section of hymenoptera. Although this SAT has a default target, the quality (in conservation terms) of the species taken should have as a much bearing here as the species count; below threshold species counts of very rare species and their brood parasites will give added value to the assemblage.
Discrimination of conservation quality: very poor
Default target: 15 species