General discussion

Test image addition

Charlie Griffiths catching summiting Sarcophagids - Stapley Hill, Shropshire 2019.

We now have a much easier way to add photos to forum posts. When you add a post, you should see an "IMAGE" section immediately under the "Body" text section, and you can simply upload one or more photos. They will appear underneath your forum text, and will automatically be shown as a thumbnail that you can click on to open up to full size (see example below).

For full details see Posting in the forums from our Help pages.

Please do remember to give details of any events you are arranging this year both on this website and on the Year of the Fly site http://yearofthefly.org/, however local.  We want to make sure that flies have as high a profile this year as we can!

I'm in the process of updating the fly database for VC55 Leicestershire & Rutland. We have very few records of the Psychodidae but note from Phil Withers Dipterists Digest No 4 (1989) on Moth Flies that he indicates 23 species have been recorded in Leicestershire but without specific record details.  Any help in locating these records would be most welcome!

Ray Morris

VC55 Diptera Coordinator

Alan Outen has asked us to pass on details on the Sandwich Bay Bioblitz on 6-7 July. Dipterists are welcome to visit the Bay, join in the recording and if possible help with identifications. For full details see the entry in our Events section.

This pupae was collected from the end of a bramble stem whilst looking for hymenopteran larvae, 20.ii.2019, Queens Park, Swindon, Wiltshire - SU155842. Thanks to Roger Morris for offering me the suggestion tachinid pupae. I reared through to its emergence yesterday 30.iii.2019, thanks due to Chris Raper for him identifying it from some poor images (worse than those below) - Triarthria setipennis ♀, a perusal of NBN Atlas suggests 242 records within it and none in North Wiltshire VC7. Chris commented "It's pretty common but not caught all the often ...

Thanks to Peter Chandler for providing another update (at February 2019) to his Checklist of Diptera of the British Isles. It can be downloaded from the Checklist page under the Resources menu, and to see the latest changes go to the Updates page.

Erica McAlister has contributed a post for Mark Avery's blog, entitled "Why Flies?":

• markavery.info/2019/03/13/guest-blog-why-flies-by-erica-mccalister

It's really well done and full of delight in Diptera, and judging by the comments seems to have struck a chord with many people. More support for flies must be a good thing!

The next meeting of the Devon Fly Group is indoors at Woodah Farm this Saturday 2nd March 2019.

You don't have to bring anything except your lunch, but any exhibit or something to talk about would be welcome. We begin presentations at 11am. Tea and coffee will be provided.

Woodah Farm is near Doddiscombleigh in the Teign valley (SX847867, EX6 7PR).

Ah ha! I have found Martin's instructions, so I am now trying to make a clickable thumbnail again.