Maine adds 3 species to ‘special concern’ list

The state added three species of flower flies to its “special concern” list.

The special concern list puts people on notice that the species may be on the decline, and scientists monitor it and the known areas where it lives for signs that it needs to be moved to the state’s endangered and threatened species list.

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Advisory Council approved the designations Wednesday to increase the protection of the hourglass drone fly, the Slosson’s pond fly and the Holarctic bristleside fly to special concern. The next step would be endangered species.

Flower flies, also referred to as hover flies, can be found in vegetable gardens as adults. Two species have a larval stage that depends on water, so are found in peat bogs and other wet habitats. The larvae are filter feeders, according to Alex Fish, a biologist specializing in endangered and threatened species with the MDIF&W.

At last count in 2023, Maine had 57 species on its endangered species list.

It is illegal to kill wildlife that is on the endangered species list, and can result in a fine of no less than $1,000 if caught, but those on the special concern list do not have the same protections or fines associated with them.

The advisory council’s action also adjusted its lists to reflect the addition of eight species, including five birds, a bumblebee, a bat and a beetle to the Maine Endangered Species list last year, and eliminated the salt marsh or margined tiger beetle from its special concern list.

Scientists found that the margined tiger beetle, which was put on the endangered and threatened species list last year, gets blown here on the wind from the south, but does not breed in the state, therefore is not considered a Maine species, Fish said.

The beetle is found where sand dunes and salt marsh meet in just a few sites in Maine, he said. The beetle was removed from the state’s list.