In the legendary song by Dumpy’s Rusty Nuts called Box Hill or Bust - they sang “Boxhill, Boxhill, ‘ere we come / I ain’t ‘appy ’til I’ve reached a ton” Maybe they meant a ton of flies such as this horsefly (Haematopota pluvialis) Coll in 1952 🙌👍 @nhm-london.bsky.social @nationaltrust.org.uk

Whilst I was teaching this afternoon my very clever wife @linbrice.bsky.social built a pond!! Love the guard pig!

Interview with Steven Falk via @nhbs.bsky.social : www.nhbs.com/blog/author-...

252 pages of back issue diptera excitement (Dipterist Digest Vol 30 pts 1 and 2) now available to download free from our website dipterists.org.uk/news/dipteri... World class science in action! @britentsoc.bsky.social @royentsoc.bsky.social @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social

Look at these lovely Oxycera soldierflies and the opportunity to learn all about them..

Dreich is good for the #fen (lots of rain...) if not people; but tomorrow promises to be the one dry day this week. Wednesday is volunteer day in the valley. Why not visit and chat to us about all the good works for wildlife we are achieving?

Save the date! Come & meet the Dipterist Forum gang at the Staffs Invert Science Fair! Loads for kids dipterists.org.uk/events/staff... @royentsoc.bsky.social @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @davebriceflies.bsky.social @lancefly.bsky.social @suillia.bsky.social @nbntrust.bsky.social @britentsoc.bsky.social

February brings us closer to the return of bumblebees – you might be lucky enough to see some this month 🤞 Bumblebee queens emerge from hibernation in spring. Keep your eyes peeled this month for early emerging Tree and Buff-tailed bumblebees 👀 Have you spotted your first bumblebee of 2026?

Our new guide to #FliesofBritainandIreland is due to be delivered to our office mid-Feb 2026 so we've extended the pre-pub offer to 14 February bit.ly/4dqQI8Z @rdimond.bsky.social @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @gailashton.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @georgemcgavin.bsky.social

Excellent! It's here and available to order from RES/CABI; the eagerly anticipated volume - years in the making - British Dolichopodidae. Really looking forward to having this sat on my desk. A colossal achievement by Martin.

Terrific news for all fans of LDFs.

Newborough Warren, Anglesey, 4th of 9 great places to see an amazing range of flies featured in our guide to #FliesofBritainandIreland due mid-Feb 2026. Pre-pub offer runs until 31 Jan - bit.ly/4dqQI8Z @rdimond.bsky.social @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @gailashton.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social

Call out to anyone with UK records of Sphaeroceridae not on NBN/iRecord. Looking at getting the best distribution possible for a new key, I realise this will be a 'best possible', but more the merrier. Please share @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @respublications.bsky.social

Call out to anyone with UK records of Sphaeroceridae not on NBN/iRecord. Looking at getting the best distribution possible for a new key, I realise this will be a 'best possible', but more the merrier. Please share @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @respublications.bsky.social

This should be front page on every UK newspaper tomorrow. Help for Heroes and British Legion must be incandescent with rage. Wootton Bassett's stood still over 400 times as British coffins arrived back from USA's request of NATO article 5. Over 300 more lost limbs. A new low for USA's turd-in-chief.

After being rather busy and after much procrastination, today I started on the outline for a new Sphaeroceridae key; this may take a while (a couple of years maybe)! Copromyzinae first, pic of Alloborborus pallifrons @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social

Ooh, interesting package arrived from @denisewawman.bsky.social time to breed out some bird nests! Looks suspicious 😅 but all legal, more to follow www.dipteraid.co.uk

Join us in Costa Rica for Fly School IV! Applications are now open. Visit dipterists.org/fly_school.h... for application & info. @dipterists.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @teamdiptera.bsky.social @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @bertonemyia.bsky.social @ariannatc.bsky.social @phorid.bsky.social

Our new 416pp #FliesofBritainandIreland covering over 1300 species & with over 1500 photos is now being printed - due mid Feb 2026. You can still pre-order until 31 Jan bit.ly/4dqQI8Z @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @gailashton.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @georgemcgavin.bsky.social

What a time to be alive!! #FliesofBritainandIreland coming out SOON @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @teamdiptera.bsky.social @dipterists.bsky.social

Join us for our dipterists.org.uk/events/dipte... Love to see lots of beginner dipterists, so much to learn! Bursary available to help fund email [email protected] deadline extended to 31-3-26. @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @britentsoc.bsky.social @royentsoc.bsky.social #entomology #flies

For 2026 we have space for new community science projects in the Netherlands or abroad. So if you are a team of neighborhood nature enthusiasts who need expert help with biodiversity inventories, please drop us a line. #scicomm #insects #Biodiversity #communityscience #citizenscience #urbannature

Our first work party of the year at our Llwyndewi Nature Reserve. This time for the UK’s most threatened resident bird – the Willow Tit. Thank you to all our volunteers and to all those who are helping.

My first invertebrate record for 2026...Boreus hyemalis (Snow Flea) at Cali Heath @yorkswildlife.bsky.social reserve this am. Exciting to think what else might turn up this year. 😀 @ynuorg.bsky.social #mecoptera #ukwildlife

Last chance to book on our Arboreal Harvestmen webinar taking place this evening, all about legs, prey capture and much more! Participants can book and watch the presentation later as it will be recorded and distributed. Date: 30 dec • 18:30 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/arboreal-h...

Utterly brilliant people, well worth attending!

Learn more about #diptera Funding available for Summer field meeting 2026 #fieldcraft #entomology #pollinators #foodwebs #detritivores Application deadline is 5th Jan. Email [email protected] @britentsoc.bsky.social @dipterists.bsky.social @royentsoc.bsky.social @flygirlnhm.bsky.social

Not long now! Book your place on my course: Arboreal Harvestmen (recording available after the event if booked/requested). Very excited for this one, we will be talking about legs and the physiology that harvestmen use for their arboreal lifestyle! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/arboreal-h...

A walk in the woods at Felbrigg with @jeremybartlett.bsky.social brought a longed for insect - Boreus hyemalis aka Snow Flea. Managed to spot a male then found a female and another male in a second patch of moss. Happy days!

Thank you all for your support

Hi ☺️ it’s Benji here 👋 I hope people will see my artwork and remember to care for nature 💚 I’m trying to raise money for charity by selling cards and prints of my artwork. Every single card really makes a difference 🥰 Please share 🙏thanks so much ❤️ benjaminfallow.etsy.com

If you are looking for a Christmas present for a Freshwater Invertebrate obsessed friend (or someone that thinks they are cool) I have something might be ideal, I used some of pond life photos into a handy Pond life ID chart shirt Link my Teemill page here: uk-wildlife.teemill.com/product/pond...

If you're enjoying the #DragonflyAdventCalendar you may also like the @britishdragonflies.bsky.social monthly e-newsletter. Free to sign up and you don't need to be a member. british-dragonflies.org.uk/get-involved...

For #FlyFriday or #Flyday why not a new podcast with me talking flies with Paul McGuinness on #WildLives (ignore the one of the worlds experts - many better than me!!) #bbcwildlife podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/w...

Still 30% discount on my Poyser, The Marsh Tit & the Willow Tit. Just in time for Christmas! The flexiback/paperback is real a steal at £24.50, but the hardback is really worth getting for the even higher production quality (and £18 discount). #birds #ukbirding www.bloomsbury.com/uk/marsh-tit...

It's time to prepare the next scheme newsletter! Contributions gratefully received, e.g. short articles/brief notes on interesting sightings/photos. I'll need them before Christmas please 🙏 If you don't have my email you can contact me via the link on the website dipterists.org.uk/soldierflies...

A Recording Scheme newsletter was sent out to @dipteristsforum.bsky.social members last spring, but I've just realised that I hadn't uploaded it to the website. That omission has now been put right, and newsletter 11 is available along with all the others here dipterists.org.uk/soldierflies...

Learn to spot and identify lichens in your local landscape! Lichens of Britain & Ireland offers practical field tips, vivid images, and habitat insights. Perfect for nature lovers and budding lichenologists. Pre-order now!

#Bugsky 🐙🌿 Who wants another baby earwig update? Everyone? Thought so. The babies are now two days old and slightly darker than when they hatched. Mama is guarding them and will stay on the job until their second molt. Btw, in the earlier post, the newly-hatched babies only had--

A dipterist's dipteron, the elusive Borboropsis puberula. The only member of the family in the UK. Restricted to the Scottish Highlands. This one from Ben Lawers is probably the 7th UK record. #Diptera #Entomology @dipteristsforum.bsky.social

#Dartmoor people, this training is really enjoyable, and really useful. Alt text has a full description. #RuralSkills #Devon

What amazing images by @sjthomasbotany.bsky.social - online resources like Sam’s are so incredibly helpful when dealing with complicated keys & little flies 🤓 #DipteristsDay2025

Just visited the Lacewing Recording Scheme website and there are lots of great identification guides available, e.g. www.laars.jamesjepson.com/neuroptera-l... - thanks to @jamesjepson.bsky.social and colleagues for putting this together

And we're off! #DipteraDay2025 Opening the Day is @denisewawman.bsky.social 'Mapping the UK's flat flies - A Citizen Science Project'. A heady mix of #ornithology, #diptera and #climate change. Recordings for the Day available on our website YouTube here: m.youtube.com/@DipteristsF...

For those unable to attend the #DipteristDay2025 in person, see you online. Link below 🪰

What a treat! @zoologymuseum.bsky.social Collection visit underway for @dipteristsforum.bsky.social Dipterist Day.

My nature journal Secrets of a Devon Wood is available to buy in @Waterstones if you're on the hunt for a gift for a nature lover. There's some signed copies in the Newton Abbot branch.

Delighted we have @pemberleybooks.bsky.social joining us at our Dipterist Day 2025 at @zoologymuseum.bsky.social this Saturday. Always a wonderful day! Join us in person, all welcome or via Zoom. Book here: dipterists.org.uk/events/dipte...

Can't make the @dipteristsforum.bsky.social Dipterist Day 2025 in Cambridge this Saturday 15th November - fear not! Sign up through the link in the page below and we'll send you the recordings. The wonders of Modern technology... dipterists.org.uk/events/dipte... Please share the love ❤️