The Society for the study of flies (Diptera)

The Diptera ("di-ptera" = two-winged) or "true flies" is the largest order of animals in the UK with around 7,000 known species and new ones being discovered every year. They are found in all habitats from the sea shore to mountain tops. Whilst some are agricultural pests or vectors of disease, the great majority are beneficial. They are extremely important as predators on other pests and diseases, as pollinators, as food for other animals and the immature stages of the bulk of the species are involved in the decay of organic matter and the recycling of material back into the soil.

Entomologists who specialise in these insects are "dipterists". In 1993, a group of people who wanted to find out more about every aspect of their lives, including the habitats they require, set up the Dipterists Forum. There is a great deal still to learn about flies. Mapping the distribution of some groups is a major achievement of the Dipterists Forum to date, but the immature stages of the majority of species are still unknown. Many species are becoming increasingly rare as a result of habitat loss and climate change.

Why not join the Dipterists Forum and help us find out more about flies? There is so much still to learn; we welcome beginners and there are always people who can help you out in the early stages. You don’t need to be an expert, or even to leave your own garden, to contribute to our knowledge of these fascinating insects. Flies need your help! Read more ...

• So how do I join?
• Benefits of membership
• Objectives of Dipterists Forum
• Diptera recording schemes

Yet again this is arranged by the NBN to clash with the Dipterists Forum AGM.
As very strong contributors to the NBN's National Schemes and Societies conferences in the past (up to 6 DF members having been at some of them) I wish to register my dismay that yet again Dipterists Forum are excluded from this highly valuable conference which is supposed to be for our benefit.
We organised our AGM first.
At the moment the only advertising for the NBN conference is in the NBN's printed newsletter - do we all receive this?

If you want better access to the Diptera datasets uploaded onto the NBN Gateway then you should join the Dipterists Forum group there. Instead of requesting better access to all of them, one by one, joining the group gives you instant full access to all of them.
Register with the NBN Gateway if you haven't already, then apply for membership of the group.
The datasets in that group are currently the field weeks for 1999, 2000 and 2001 plus the Stilt and Stalk Fly recording scheme.
I'm currently working on the DF Charnwood records from last year and will be adding those in a litttle while.
Please note that Stuart Ball manages the Hoverfly dataset separately.

Would you like to see more DF datasets on the site?
Tell us.

The Dipterists Forum Annual Meeting and AGM will take place on Saturday 22 Nov 2008 at the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff.

Accommodation for the Dipterists Summer Field meeting in 2009 has now been booked at Swansea University for 4th - 11th July.

Rooms will cost £39.10 per night if you want en suite and £33.60 per night otherwise. This includes breakfast and evening meal. There will be an additional cost for the use of a room for our lab and we may or may not have to pay VAT on the total (still under negotiation - depends on convincing them that "the meeting is genuinely educational and not run for a profit").

Roger has booked 20 rooms and will require a deposit of £40 from you to secure a place.

A number of DF members are attending this year's AES exhibition and there are again plans to publicise Dipterists Forum.
The actual date of the event isn't on the exhibition page on the AES website. Does anyone have any idea of when it is?