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[Kahis wrote:

Nearly all diptera identification books are written by taxonomists for taxonomists; they care little of field identification. In fact most species are probably identifiable in the field, but nobody has the skills needed.
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So why not start with spezies that are identificable in the field or from pictures? I tried it for instance with Eristalis. First I thought it hopless but this year I made some pictureseries: One animal from all possible sides, then when I lost it a picture of the ground and next trial. Many pictures go to the bin because I cann't identify them, but there is a rest. For instance Eristalis jugorum is for me normally impossible to identify from one picture (there are exeptions) but when you have sevral views there is a chance. When you know what exactly is important for ID, you can look for it ...
When you start collecting you are soon surrounded of dusty bodies and need much place. Untill now I have prefered to buy another harddisc instead of boxes for dead flies.
I don't know how long, but I still try to do as much as I can with pictures.
Maja