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Well, our recording scheme is plotting their current distributions and we have about 10,000+ records so far (even with the relatively small number of recorders). But what we lack is the historic data, from museum specimen data labels. We have personally transcribed the data from a few smaller, local museum collections but the big ones (London, NHM & Oxford, OUM) are just too far away and too large for us to work on. :( Some day we hope to get some money to employ someone to work there and do it but that hasen't been forthcoming yet.

Saying that, there might not be a massive decline. Just because Belshaw saw "50 records" doesn't say over how many years they were collected eg. 50 in the 1930s from all over England and none since? or 1 every year in the same place since 1950?

Some tachinids happily exist in very low numbers or are just grossly under-recorded, even across Europe. Consider Opesia grandis, which has been seen very rarely over Europe (Peter Tschorsnig says he saw 2 in his life) but a friend of mine discovered it new to Britain a few years ago and now sees it in his garden every year! ;) Or Chetogena acuminata, which is extremely local and restricted to dry dune systems (especially around the North Sea & Baltic Sea) - seen at Winterton Dunes every year between 1929 and 1933 but never since ... is it extinct or has nobody been back to look for it at the right time of year? Same goes for Germaria angustata - restricted to Winterton Dunes and around the Baltic/North Seas - seen in the 1930s, 40s & 1 in the 1990s ... but it is also incredibly local across the whole northern hemisphere. Syd Cannings has been getting them in the Yukon (USA) on wind-blown glacial sand drifts (pers.comm.).

Basically, we have a lot to learn and we will only do it by collecting more, databasing more and collaborating across the world :)