This is an interactive site for dipterists from all continents dealing with all aspects of dipterology (the study of Diptera: flies and midges) and dipterists. Here you can submit all your links to dipterological websites and events, post your dipterological queries in the forum, submit articles and news on Diptera, and contribute pictures for the Diptera Gallery. Submissions are open for members and members can contribute to the forums.
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Enjoy the site and keep helping to build it up to a significant entry point for dipterological research.
Thank you! Despite the incease in hosting costs the donations up to Christmas Eve covered more than 90% of the costs for the running the website this year. Like I said last year 'We will manage' and so we did. Together we will continue the good work in the coming year. ;) [24 December 2020]
A work of skill, surpassing sense,
A labor of Omnipotence;
Though frail as dust it meet thine eye,
He form\'d this gnat who built the sky. -- James Montgomery (The Gnat)
On January 8, Oleg Pavlovich Negrobov, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor of the Chair of Zoology and Parasitology of Voronezh State University, passed away. His whole life was associated with the Voronezh University, Russia, where he held the Chair of Ecology and Systematics of Invertebrates for many years.
Oleg Pavlovich was born in Voronezh. In 1959, he entered the Faculty of Biology and Soil Science of Voronezh University, which he graduated with honors. During his studies, Negrobov took part in a number of expeditions to the Caucasus, the Kola Peninsula and the White Sea. In 1964, Oleg Pavlovich entered the postgraduate course of the Zoological Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences in Leningrad, where he prepared a thesis for the degree of candidate of biological sciences (PhD) under the guidance of the famous entomologist Professor A.A. Staсkelberg. The work was defended in 1968. And from the end of 1967, Oleg Pavlovich began working at the Chair of Invertebrate Zoology, Voronezh State University.
Since the first years of his work until the end of his life, he was engaged in research on dipterans. And he was one of the world's leading specialist on the long-legged flies (family Dolichopodidae). He described 13 new genera, about 510 new species and subspecies of this family.
In 1983, Oleg Pavlovich defended his thesis for the scientific degree of Doctor of Biological Sciences (DSc in Biology), and since 1986, he took the position of professor of the Chair of Invertebrate Zoology. Later he became the head of this department, which was transformed under his leadership into the Chair of Ecology and Systematics of Invertebrates. Since September 2020, after merger of two zoological departments, he became a professor at the Chair of Zoology and Parasitology.
See the list of new taxa of Dolichopodidae described by O.P. Negrobov here.
Flower Flies of Northeastern North America
In mid-May this year, our Field Guide to the Flower Flies of Northeastern North America was published (https://press.princeton.edu/titles/14224.html). This book covers all syrphids found from Tennessee north to the high Arctic (including Greenland) and west to roughly the Mississippi River. All 413 known species from this region are included in the guide. In addition to providing identification information on the species, it includes many previously unpublished things (new synonyms, new combinations, undescribed species, DNA evidence for taxonomic decision making, etc.). The book includes many photos of each species (both lab and field photos), maps that include dots for the exact records as well as predictive ranges, silhouettes showing the actual size of the animals, ecological information, etc. There is also an extensive morphology section, glossary, checklist and bibliography.
It is published by Princeton and available from most book sellers (including Amazon, Indigo, Veldshop, Pemberly, etc.).
We hope that you enjoy it and help fill in the many gaps in our knowledge before a second edition.
Jeff
--
Jeff Skevington, Research Scientist
Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
German Diptera Meeting 2019
The 36th meeting of the German Diptera study group (AK DIPTERA) is going to take place from 31.05.2019 to 02.06.2019 in southwestern Germany, near the Danube Sinkhole near Tuttlingen (state of Baden-Württemberg). The meeting consists of a scientific symposium on Friday, a Diptera collecting field trip on Saturday, and an optional historic excursion on Sunday (castle Granegg and Beilstein cave). As the venue is located close to the FRENCH and SWISS border, we would be delighted to welcome some of our neighbouring colleagues! If you are interested to participate, send me a PM and I will send you an English version of the registration form with additional details.
Kind regards,
Christian
New book: The robberflies of Germany
Finally it is done! The nature guide "The robberflies of Germany" has just been published (in German language):
Many thanks to all of you, who contributed to this book with their faunistic data of asilid findings (pictures) from Germany.
Greetings,
Danny
Simuliid Bulletin Number 49
The Simuliid Bulletin Number 49 (January 2018) is now available for download at the usual site: simuliidbulletin.blogspot.co.uk. You find it by clicking on the link to go to the Simuliid Bulletin Archives.
The main article is an obituary for Dr. Roger Crosskey, but there is also an obiturary for Michael Service and a notice about the forthcoming Symposium in Birmingham.
victorengelon 01 May 2022 01:20:04
When I first saw a fly doing this, I thought it was like a dog returning to its vomit. I've not seen anything since to contradict that idea. My most recent observation was of a Euxesta pechumani dining on some fresh anole feces. It spent a lot of time dining - long enough for me to go get my camera and then take lots of pictures. After some time dining, it blew a bubble (why are they called bubbled? they're really drops). The drop it exuded was crystal clear. It continued dining later. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/112196442 View Article Comment
von Tschirnhauson 04 March 2021 14:24:40
Chlorops pumilionis. The dark tip of the fore-tibia and the deep gena (jowl) confirm the identification. View Photo Comment
jhstukeon 04 March 2021 12:53:06
Concerning the black rings and the convex shape of termites it looks like a male of C. ceriaeformis. View Photo Comment
weiaon 18 January 2021 17:03:04
Clogmia rothschildi? It's thorax has more yellow/brown hairs than Western European ones. View Photo Comment
von Tschirnhauson 14 December 2020 17:17:34
Chlorops strigulus (Fabricius, 1794), female or Chlorops frontosus Meigen, 1830, Chloropidae. Both species are very similar. This seems to be the more abundant C. strigulus. In a Chlorops key of Dely-Draskovits (1978) C. frontosus was omitted together with several other Chlorops species. View Photo Comment
blaauw7on 18 November 2020 08:56:24
turned out to be Achalcus thalhammeri male
det. Paul Beuk View Photo Comment
Hi! would anyone be able to send on a scan of Delia sanctijacobi redescription from: GRIFFITHS, G.C.D. 1993. Anthomyiidae [part]. In: Flies of the Nearctic Region, 8(2), 10. Thank you!
Hello, I'm looking for literature on chironomid larvae that are able to survive after being entrapped in ice for at least several days . So far I've only found literature on Eretmoptera murphy
