---

Hi all,

As part of my PhD research I am conducting macroinvertebrate surveys in chalk rivers in the UK. While I'm pretty good with most families of invertebrates, diptera are a weak spot for me. It doesn't help that I only have a very basic guide where the major diptera families are described with images rather than proper keys.

Basically, I only really need to know the family, but I'd be interested to learn the species too. Using my guide, I could not begin to identify this one. Sorry I don't have a scale to show the size.

All help very much appreciated.

---

Looks to me like the larva of Curculionidae.

---

As Atylotus told it as a very good expert, it will be a Coleoptera larva, Curculinodea,
difficult to discriminate without seing the adult habitus, difficult also to know if Curclionidae larvae are aquatic or not, as no simple features can distinguish both.

---

Thanks very much, both.

Ah, Coleoptera - the most confused order!

I shall dig out the specimen and work out where I went wrong in assigning it to Diptera!

All the best