General discussion

Following on from my earlier general enquiry re Dolichopodidae records in VC55 I am now concerned about the veracity of my records of Dolichopus agilis in the county.

I took this several times during malaise trapping at several locations in the Rutland Water NR in the period 2014-2016 and I have since found it in Rothamsted light trap material at the Loddington (East Leics) site. At RW both sexes were taken but only females at light.  I have only two other records - one from a churchyard in west Leics and another by Andy Jukes from a site in north Leicester 2018. 

I'm presently pulling together Dolichopodidae data for Leicestershire & Rutland (VC55) in order to produce a status report for the family (to 2020) as part of a series of reports produced by the Leicestershire & Rutland Entomological Society.

I have worked through available online databases as well as local records and also pored over publications.  I have a simple question - are the data on the NBN Atlas up-to-date and, if not, is it possible to access a database where the information can be retrieved?

Many thanks

Ray

Hi,

Please can anyone ID this beautiful fly seen at Polsden Lacey (Surrey Hills) this afternoon?

(OK I moved off iPhone, resized the image and corrected the spell checked 'corrections’).

Has anyone observed a species with an apparently divided scutellum? This 8mm fly was found indoors yesterday.  I attach three pictures, one showing the genitalia.

Anthony Bainbridge

Hi folks,

I seem to remember recently seeing an article with advice for attaching a Olympus TG5/6 to a trinocular microscope but cannot seem to now re-find it. Can anyone on here with a better memory than me kindly point me in the right direction?

I’m also seeking a key to help me work through several Bibio specimens I have in my collection. I know there was an RES handbook but this is not one of the very useful free downloads on their website. If anyone could put me onto one I would be very grateful.

Thank you in advance!

I've been passed a sample of the catch from a light trap that includes a couple of Simuliidae.  Is there a modern key to identify these or, if not, is there anybody who could identify them?

Thanks

Ray

Is this Hydrotaea diabolus please? Beds. 7 September 2021.  Support for that ID comes from Steve Crellin via Facebook.  Reason why it might not be diabolus is because the haltere is rather dark and it should be yellower for that species. Trouble is it doesn't key to any of the species with a darker haltere (some are rare anyway, whereas diabolus is supposed to be common).

I thought it was Onesia floralis (calliphoridae) but it Should have 0+3 intra alar bristles, and my fly seems to have 1+3 or does it ? Please confirm whether the presutural(marked) is intra alar or not ??????