The reserve is visited by roe deer, badgers and foxes and has its own population of rabbits.
It is particularly rich in reptile, amphibian and invertebrate species.
Herpetofauna (Snakes and Lizards)
| Latin name | Common name or description | Comments |
| Vipera berus | Adder | Protected under schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. It is illegal to kill, injure or sell adders. |
| Lacerta vivipara | Common or viviparous lizard | Protected under schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. |
Amphibia (Frogs, Toads and Newts)
| Latin name | Common name or description | Comments |
| Rana temporaria | Common frog | |
| Bufo bufo | Common European toad | |
| Triturus helveticus | Palmate newt | |
| Triturus cri../status | Great crested newt | |
Coleoptera I (Beetles)
| Latin name | Common name or description | Comments |
| Bagous lutulosus | Small weevil | feeds on juncus |
| Dorytomus salicis | Small weevil | found on catkins of willow |
| Ceutorhynchus atomus | Small weevil | in disturbed sandy areas |
| Carabus nitens | Ground beetle | diurnal, runs rapidly on heath/moorland where there is sphagnum |
| Miscodera artica | Ground beetle | sand/gravel predatory ground beetle on pill beetle |
| Pterostichus lepidus | Ground beetle | |
| Pterostichus oblongopunctarus | Ground beetle | |
| Agonum versutum | Predatory ground beetle | |
| Grammostethus marginatus | Scavenger beetle | |
| Stenus europaeuse | Rove beetle | in marshy places |
| Porcinolus marinus | Small pill beetle | heathery places |
| Adonia variegata | Adonis' Ladybird | |
| Rhynchites longiceps | Primitive weevil | found in leaf litter, dry grassy places |
| Cneothinus plumbeus | Weevil | on leaf litter |
| Magdalis carbonaria | Weevil | found on birch |
| Dorytomus salicinus | Weevil | found on catkins of willow |
Coleoptera II (Water Beetles)
| Latin name | Common name or description | Comments |
| Haliplus ruficollis | algivorous crawling water beetle | Family Haliplidae Recorded 1998 Martin Hammond (MH) |
| Laccophilus minutus | diving beetle | Family Dytiscidae 1998 MH |
| Hygrotus confluens | diving beetle | 1998 MH |
| Hygrotus impressopunctatus | diving beetle | 1998 MH |
| Hydroporus angu../status | diving beetle | 1998 MH |
| Hydroporus erythrocephalus | diving beetle | 1998 MH |
| Hydroporus gyllenhali | diving beetle | 1998 MH |
| Hydroporus incognitus | diving beetle | 1998 MH |
| Hydroporus palustris | diving beetle | 1998 MH |
| Hydroporus planus | diving beetle | 1998 MH |
| Hydroporus pubescens | diving beetle | 1998 MH |
| Hydroporus tessellatus | diving beetle | 1998 MH |
| Suphrodytes dorsalis | diving beetle | 1998 MH |
| Copelatus haemorrhoidalis | diving beetle | 1998 MH |
| Agabus labiatus | flightless diving beetle | in stagnant water bodies and relic fenlands
that dry up in summer - but turn up in newly dug gravel pits |
| Agabus bipustulatus | diving beetle | 1998 MH |
| Agabus congener | diving beetle | 1991 RC (absent 1998 MH) |
| Agabus nebulosus | diving beetle | 1998 MH |
| Agabus sturmii | diving beetle | 1998 MH |
| Agabus uliginosus | diving beetle | species of seasonal pools in fens, woodland and grassland.
Has its national stronghold in the Vale of York. One male was collected by R. Crossley in April 1991; in 1998 it could not be re-found on the reserve but was
recorded from a small pond in the west of Allerthorpe Wood (MH). Nationally scarce. |
| Ilybius fuliginosus | diving beetle | 1998 MH |
| Rhanthus suturalis | diving beetle | a generalist pond and ditch species found on three
occasions in the pond in 1998 (MH). It is local and sporadic rather than genuinely scarce and is perhaps increasing in Yorkshire. Nationally scarce. |
| Rhanthus suturellus | diving beetle | 1991 RC (absent 1998 MH) |
| Colymbetus fuscus | diving beetle | 1998 MH |
| Dytiscus circumflexus | diving beetle | a species of Great Diving Beetle that has been spreading
north since the 1980's. In 1998 it was also found at Strensall Common/World's End, Askham Bog and sites in the Lower Derwent Valley, where it is now well
established. A single specimen was trapped in August 1998 (MH). Nationally scarce. |
| Dytiscus marginalis | diving beetle | 1998 MH |
| Gyrinus substriatus | a whirligig beetle | Family Gyrinidae 1998 MH |
| Helophorus brevipalpis | scavenger water beetle | Family Hydrophilidae 1998 MH |
| Helophorus minutus | scavenger water beetle | 1998 MH |
| Hydrobius fuscipes | scavenger water beetle | 1998 MH |
| Anacaena globulus | scavenger water beetle | 1998 MH |
| Anacaena lutescens | scavenger water beetle | 1998 MH |
| Laccobius minutus | scavenger water beetle | 1998 MH |
| Helochares punctatus | scavenger water beetle | shares similar habitats to Enochrus affinis.
It is quite numerous at Allerthorpe Common and was found both in 1991 (RC) and 1998 (MH). It has a widely scattered distribution. Classified as Nationally scarce
but subject to review. |
| Enochrus affinis | scavenger water beetle | a small scavenger water beetle found in Sphagnum
and shallow water in acidic habitats. It is locally abundant on Strensall and Skipwith Commons but just a single male specimen was collected at Allerthorpe
on 23 August 1998 (MH). Nationally scarce. |
| Enochrus fuscipennis | scavenger water beetle | a very local mire species represented by a
single specimen collected in 1991 (RC). Nationally scarce. |
| Ochthebius minimus | a water beetle | Family Hydraenidae 1998 MH |
Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
| Latin name | Common name or description | Comments |
| Polyommatus icarus | Common Blue | Recorded 1999 Paul Benson (PB) |
| Lycaena phlaeas | Small Copper | Recorded 1999 PB |
| Gonepteryx rhamni | Brimstone | Recorded 1999 PB |
| Oclodes venatus | Large Skipper | Recorded 1999 PB |
| Aphantopus hyperantus | Ringlet | Recorded 1999 PB |
| Mamiola jutina | Meadow Brown | Recorded 1999 PB |
| Pyronia tithonus | Gatekeeper | Recorded 1999 PB |
| Pieris brassicae | Large White | Recorded 1999 PB |
| Synanthedon culiciformis | Large red-belted clearwing | larvae under bark and in cut stumps |
| Adscita ../statistices | Forester | |
| Perconia strigillaria | Grass wave | |
Diptera (Two-winged Flies)
| Latin name | Common name or description | Comments |
| Empis prodromus | A dance fly | endangered - damp areas of heathland |
| Nephrotoma crocata | A crane fly | |
| Epitripus cingulatus | Robber fly | |
| Lasiopogon cinctus | Robber fly | sandy heath - predator on insects |
| Chelipoda vocatoria | Small raptorial empidid | damp situ and wait on vegetation |
| Eristalis rupium frabricus | Hoverfly | |
| Zodion cinereuums | Cone headed fly | larvae internal parasites of solitary bee |
| Copromyza pedestris | A lesser dung fly | cut sedges and grass/leaf litter |
| Stegana coleoptrata | A small fly | birch woods |
Hemiptera (Bugs)
| Latin name | Common name or description | Comments |
| Eurhadina kirschbaumi | A whitish leafhopper | found on sessile oak |
| Globiceps flavomaculatus | A plant bug | found in damp places often associated with willow spp. Largely predacious. |
Hymenoptera (Bees, Wasps and Ants)
| Latin name | Common name or description | Comments |
| Arge enodis | A rare sawfly | (one female 1928) |
| Mellinus crabroneus | Sand digger wasp | (presumed extinct) prey on diptera and nest in sandy places |
| Symmorphus crassicornis | Rare potter wasp | mud nests in damp places usually beside streams |
| Momada robertjeotiana | Nomad bee | parasitic in nest of solitary bee. Bee of dry sandy lowland. Obtains pollen exclusively from Potentilla |
| Crossocerus leucostoma | Small black solitary wasp | few records |
| Bombus distinguendus | Great yellow bumble bee | nest in ground |
| Methocha ichneumondes | Flightless wasp resembling ichneumon | parasitic on tiger beetle |
Aranaea (Spiders)
| Latin name | Common name or description | Comments |
| Pityohyphantes phrygianus | Small money spider | conifer plantations |
| Walckenaeria incisa | A money spider | found on pine and oak litter |
Odonata (Dragonflies)
| Latin name | Common name or description | Comments |
| Aeshna cyanea | Southern Hawker | All recorded since 1996 by Paul Benson - all breeding |
| Aeshna grandis | Brown Hawker | |
| Libellula quadrimaculata | Four-spotted Chaser | |
| Sympetrum danae | Black Darter | |
| Sympetrum sanguineum | Ruddy Darter | |
| Sympetrum striolatum | Common Darter | |
| Lestes sponsa | Emerald Damselfly | |
| Pyrrhosoma nymphula | Large Red Damselfly | |
| Ischnura elegans | Blue-tailed Damselfly | |
| Coenagrion puella | Azure Damselfly | |
| Enallagma cyathigerum | Common Blue Damselfly | |
Allerthorpe Common