Formed in August 2013, the Devon Fly Group is an informal group of diptera enthusiasts who meet once indoors during the winter and at once a month in the field from April to October weather permitting. Membership is open to anyone regardless of age, interests, enthusiasm or competency simply by way of contacting Andrew Cunningham to join the Yahoo Newsgroup. We use this communication medium to keep members informed of field meetings, notable snippets of news, and various other noteworthy items.
The group is following in the footsteps of previous Devonian luminaries such as Colonel Yerbury, C. W. Bracken, George Bignell, and a few others. Devon has a rich assemblage of habitats, you could say the only thing we do not have is a mountain! Field meetings take place in interesting locations, in underrecorded areas or simply in pursuit of rare species. Constructive feedback is given to landowners who give us consent to visit their lands. Species of note previously encountered include Hornet Roberfly (Asilus crabroniformis), Bog Hoverfly (Eristalis cryptarum), Helius hispannicus (a very rare small cranefly) and Pogonota barbata (a smart dung fly).
Dipterology is no longer the preserve of the tweed-clad Victorian gentleman so do join us, even if you are only down here on holiday! We are glad to see people interested in all walks of natural history at our field meetings, especially those interest in other invertebrate groups.
One field meeting already confirmed for the year ahead is arranged for Saturday 11th May at Devon Wildlife Trusts' Halsdon Wood Reserve in north Devon. The meeting point is the Ashwell car park at the north end of the reserve (SS554130) at 10 am. Bring a packed lunch and suitable footwear. This is a joint meeting between the Devon Fly Group, the Devonshire Association, the DWT and the BENHS to mark the International Year of the Fly. Contact Andrew Cunningham on the email mentioned above for further details.
UPDATE (JANUARY 2022) We will hold our indoor meeting on Saturday 5th March 2022. Start arriving at 10:30 for coffee and idle chatter, and we'll begin the presentations at 11:00. We finish when everyone's had enough, usually about 3:30 - 4:00.
We will meet in the Cattle Barn at DWT's Woodah Farm, just west of Doddiscombsleigh (SX847867, EX6 7PR) and about 10km west of Exeter. The Cattle Barn will be cold until the log burner is going, so bring an extra jumper.
Do bring along a talk, exhibit, gadget, photos .... Anything goes so long as it's about flies. There's a projector (for pc, not Mac unless you have an adaptor). We will bring a microscope so any puzzling specimens can be looked at.
Woodah Farm is near Doddiscombleigh in the Teign valley (SX847867, EX6 7PR).
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