General discussion

This little fly - 2 cm wingtip to wingtip - keys out to Epistrophe or Meliscaeva, but to neither with any certainty.  Apart from the clear marking on tergites 2, 3 and 4 there are no others visible.  The underside shows more bright yellow than I recall on other Syrphids.  Other clues have I none.  I want it to be M. cinctella, but given the diversity of markings in the subfamily I can't be sure of anything.  I'd welcome some guidance.

I've just tried to download the Sarcophagid keys but when I click on the link I receive a message to say that "Access Denied" because I apparently don't have permission to visit this page. I am logged in as this message shows, what am I doing wrong?

Steve Crellin

Taking the opportunity of enforced confinement to verify some i/ds in some of my older boxes, I came across a specimen of Aphrosylus raptor dated May 2001.  There's no doubt about the i/d - 4mm, strongly spinose front coxa and trochanters, five dorsocentrals, etc.  The problrem is that I had labelled it as found in Herefordshire, hardly a location where one would find intertidal rocks.  I had put a question mark on the card at the time.  Can anyone help by asserting that this geus is not exclusively coastal?

Does anyone have a spare copy of Brian R. Pitkin's RES Handbook on the Sphaeroceridae?  It seems to be out of print and the RES does not offer it as a download.  There must be a copy out there somewhere....!

Thanks

Anthony Bainbridge

Hi all,

In the Autumn 2019 edition of Dipterists Forum, Darwyn Sumner commented about data for 'Families not covered by a recording scheme' . I'm becoming interested at looking at species initially with relevance to London.

So.

Does anyone know if Noon Fly Mesembrina meridiana has been taken-up by anyone, or is already being studied?

Are there any other obvious species that could benefit from a bit of looking-into?

Any advice etc also appreciated.

Many thanks

-Linda Pryke

Finding Piophilidae flies

In the Spring 2020 Bulletin of the Dipterists Forum, Nigel Jones contributed an article on ‘Finding Piophilidae’.  He described the successes he has had with the use of baited traps and by finding the flies on carrion.

I think there was a majority in favour of Muscidae for next year's weekend at Preston Montford.  If so, is it possible to include a session on Faniidae please?  Can't remember covering that Family before.

Here is a reminder that the Devon Fly Group are holding our annual indoor winter meeting at Woodah Farm on Saturday 7th March. We will start casually at 10:30am and finish mid afternoon. Woodah Farm is near Doddiscombleigh in the Teign valley (SX847867, EX6 7PR).

BRC is printing out the handouts for the DF Preston Montford workshop on 14-16 February. Is there anyone going to that workshop who could collect the handouts from me and deliver them to PM? Would need to be collected from Wallingford in Oxfordshire or near Princes Risborough in Buckinghamshire.

Thanks!

In the last few days we've added a few new items to the website:

• A page for the new Heleomyzid Recording Scheme
• Downloads for Stuart Ball's keys to Diptera families (with the Ismay's additional input) and to Sciomyzidae, available via the DF membership area (you need to be logged in to the website to access these).

Other recent additions in case you missed them: