Nanananananananana - Bat Fly! Myanthropa florea - the 'batman' hoverfly Thanks for the image @davebriceflies.bsky.social

Times Obituary for Peter Chandler today, written by close friend, Dr Ian F.G. McLean. Dr McLean said: "I am so pleased that Peter should receive this accolade, he was very helpful to many Dipterists and always disarmingly modest about his outstanding contributions to the study of flies".

Off to lead walks in the Wyre Forest, nr Bewdley at the weekend - should see Dippers along the Dowles Brook. Great for wildflowers and insects (Pearl-bordered Fritillary and Logjammer Hoverfly) too @worcswt.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @gailashton.bsky.social @rdimond.bsky.social

Look out for these tiny flies lurking around your bee hotel. Known as the Houdini Fly Cacoxenus indagator it lays an egg in a sealed mason bee tube, then escapes leaving its egg to develop into a cleptoparitic larva. Find out more here bit.ly/4dqQI8Z @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @bbowt.bsky.social

Fan-bristled Robberfly - Dysmachus trigonus and beetle prey #UKwildlife

Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui, one careful owner, only 5,000 miles on the clock. #Butterflies #Insects #VC55

Calling all entomologists! 29th May - Westminster Council's 1st ever Bioblitz at Paddington Recreation Ground. Meet at the 'Star'. More info in link below: dipterists.org.uk/events/first...

Two of @friendlyevalley.bsky.social Wednesday volunteers recently enjoyed a first try at Austrian Scything & sweep-netting the fen to check on our wetland #inverts. We are also again monitoring larvae of soldierflies using grapefruit skin bait-traps. Stratiomys sp here @dipteristsforum.bsky.social

I think this is ok for Ptychoptera lacustris, another new species for #RSPBMiddletonLakes, 17/05/26 @dipteristsforum.bsky.social #Diptera

A new one for me and for #RSPBMiddletonLakes, Empis scutellata, seen 17/05/26 @dipteristsforum.bsky.social #Diptera

Garden is full of bees for #WorldBeeDay and Nate’s have photos of non-bees! 😆 a Turf-running spider? (Philodromus cespitum ) A Sun-Fly (Helophilus pendulus) & a Narcissus Bulb fly (Merodon equestris) always exciting in the garden! @britishspiders.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social

The Green Forest Fly Caliprobola sp;eciosa, a large & rare hoverfly - one of the gems of the New Forest where it can be seen around the base of old trees & stumps. Get into the world of flies with our 'flyble' bit.ly/4dqQI8Z @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @bbowt.bsky.social @tverc1.bsky.social

Poor image but excellent record Diplonevra abbreviata (Phoridae) sampled at @kneppwilding.bsky.social last year during the @opwall.bsky.social field season It’s a whopper (~5cm) with one record on @nbntrust.bsky.social!! You all need to go find this beauty @dipteristsforum.bsky.social

A possible Pea Stilt-leg (Micropeza corrigiolata)? Found on the broad beans, in a veg bed with peas growing too. - My Stoke-on-Trent garden, Staffordshire- 18/05/26 @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @lisawilliams30.bsky.social

Dipterist Forum Summer Field Trip is coming up fast! More bursaries to help with costs are now available. Details on the where, how's and what's here: dipterists.org.uk/events/dipte... An excellent opportunity to immerse yourself in all things Diptera, learn fieldcraft and work with the experts!

SPECIAL OFFER – Buy our best-selling Flies of Britain & Ireland and our Insects of Britain & Ireland TOGETHER and SAVE £15. Order here naturebureau.co.uk/flies-and-insects-bundle-offer The offer ends 30 June 2026 @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @bbowt.bsky.social @georgemcgavin.bsky.social

Scathophaga litorea & Nanna fasciata (dung flies) pictured here by Daniel Blyton from the Dipterist Forum Spring Field Trip. Thanks Daniel, impressive turnaround on the ID'ing! #recordingdiptera #dipterafieldcraft #understandingflies #protectingflies Thanks for access @wildlifetrust.bsky.social

How Forestry England is restoring Breckland based on science. youtube.com/watch?v=Yhf2...

A stunning Tipula lunata cranefly, one of my favourites, seen at #RSPBMiddletonLakes, 09/05/26 @dipteristsforum.bsky.social #Diptera

I was really pleased to find this Soldierfly (the Black Colonel) Odontomyia tigrina on an alder tree by our pond It is apparently rare and localised South Norfolk @norfolknats.bsky.social @norfolkponds.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social #flies #soldierflies

Sartorial standards have sadly declined among dipterists since 1951 😆 @dipteristsforum.bsky.social

#doli's #dolichopodidae look at the antenna on that baby! Thank you Epping Forest, a lovely fly from a bog in the Beech trees @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @teamdiptera.bsky.social #dipteristforumSpringFieldTrip #diptera

And we're off! Dipterist Forum Spring Field Trip. First stop today, Epping Forest. #diptera #fieldcraft #surveys thanks for access @the-wildlifetrusts.bsky.social and @nationaltrust.org.uk . Tomorrow is '#saltmarsh' Sunday with trips to Tollesbury Wick, Abbotts Hall and Malden.

Could this be a female Crysotoxum arcuatum? Globular in shape and third antennae segment longer. -Gentleshaw Common, Staffordshire, 08/05/2026 @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @lisawilliams30.bsky.social #hoverflies

A bumblebee-mimic hoverfly Matsumyia berberina seen at BBOWT's Dry Sandford Pit last week before the weather turned damp and colder. One of the many hoverflies featured in our #BestFlyBook bit.ly/4dqQI8Z @bbowt.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @gailashton.bsky.social @flygirlnhm.bsky.social

Gastrolepta anthracina on a nettle leaf in the lane behind the house today. New for me. @chrisraper.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social

Need more fly stuff in your life? Great, we now have an Instagram page too - drop over and say hello! www.instagram.com/p/DX4OiZdDNcI/ A beautiful Empis femorata, smothered in pollen for attention #fliesarepollinatorstoo @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @davebriceflies.bsky.social @teamdiptera.bsky.social

The soldierfly Microchrysa polita seen 29/04/26 Tamworth, #Staffs, my 1st soldierfly of the year I think @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social #Diptera #fly

Very sad news regarding the passing of Peter Chandler. dipterists.org.uk/news/announc...

it's a rare confluence of delights to watch @johncooperclarke.bsky.social and the brilliant @flygirlnhm.bsky.social together on the Harry Hill Podscarf.. it's cultural and educational youtu.be/LC-xIryYhd0

Empis nigritarsis, which I found flying in the kitchen earlier today. @dipteristsforum.bsky.social

Thanks to @suillia.bsky.social and colleagues for providing the excellent photos and resources that allowed me to identify this fly - see the Heleomyzid Recording Scheme page on the @dipteristsforum.bsky.social website: dipterists.org.uk/heleomyzid-s...

Super talk Mike yesterday got some really interesting facts from it.

A great day learning more on Phorid ID with Mark Welch, another layer to add to my knowledge base. Adds more depth to survey results too. Megaselia wigtownensis for show. www.dipteraid.co.uk Sub-contract ID services still available for 2026 @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social

Drama in the garden, with a bunch of freeloader flies (yes, that's a thing) taking advantage of a crab spider's kill on the milkweed.

www.northwestinvertebrates.org.uk/event/muscid... North West Invertebrates host @entmikeashworth.bsky.social coordinator of Dipterists Forum's Muscidae & Fanniidae Study Group describing each of 40 genera & providing hints for identification. Webinar presentation 27th April 19:30 book in link below.

Westminster City Council needs volunteers to support Bioblitz on 29 May. Need botanists, entomologists, ornithologists, mycologists etc. Habitats include ponds, woodland, and green spaces. The whole day, an hour or two of your time would make a real difference! dipterists.org.uk/events/first...

It’s with a heavy heart that I tell you that on Thursday 23 April 2026 Peter Chandler, one of the most eminent Dipterists & all round amazing person, died after a fall at his home Peter’s passing will be a huge loss to the Diptera community. Such an intelligent, witty & kind man. A huge loss

Excellent to have such a thorough regional review available #robberflies #flies #diptera @dipteristsforum.bsky.social

Thanks to Sander Bot for sharing a new (and very well-illustrated) key to Cheilosia hoverflies in Europe - looking forward to trying it out www.researchgate.net/publication/... #flies #diptera @dipteristsforum.bsky.social

Plenty of Epistrophe eligans hoverflies around this Spring, this Male seen 07/04/26 Tamworth, #Staffs @dipteristsforum.bsky.social #Syrphidae #Diptera #fly #hoverfly

A gorgeously fluffy male Scathophaga stercoraria fly on Blossom, 07/04/26, Tamworth, #Staffs @dipteristsforum.bsky.social #Diptera #fly

To bee or not to bee - these 2 hoverflies are brilliant bee mimics - Left: Cheilosia chrysocoma mimics Tawny Mining Bee. Right: Criorhina floccosa mimics Common Carder Bee @bbowt.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @flygirlnhm.bsky.social - see our #BestFlyBook bit.ly/4dqQI8Z

A male of the spring bumble-bee mimic hoverfly Criorhina ranunculi (Large Bearfly) Found hovering around a rot hole in the base of a tree in an ancient bluebell wood. Mimic of Black-bodied red-tail Bumble bee. #Diptera @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @flygirlnhm.bsky.social

I’m about to give a talk at the Royal Institute @rigb.org - Metamorphosis - eggs to excellence Talking maggots at the Royal Institution!! @royentsoc.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @dipterists.bsky.social @amentsoc.bsky.social

The latest recording scheme newsletter (no. 12) was sent out to members of @dipteristsforum.bsky.social recently, and is also available from the recording scheme web page dipterists.org.uk/soldierflies... - includes exciting news of a possible new Villa bee-fly species in the UK 🤩 1/2 ...

@simon-rolph.com AI for Biodiversity Monitoring 🤖 Join us at #NFBRConference2026 8 May to explore how AI could transform biodiversity monitoring—from image recognition to future AI tools—alongside the real-world challenges. bit.ly/4sZO4iz @ukceh.bsky.social #AI #Biodiversity #BiologialRecording

Just in case you haven’t seen this yet - brilliant! www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

Norellisoma flavicorne, the Grey Mantis Dung Fly...a small, Meadowsweet-associated dung fly with impressive raptorial bristles on the forelegs. A common species on beds of Meadowsweet around the @ldvnnr.bsky.social . @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @ynuorg.bsky.social