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BULLETIN OF THE Dipterists Forum Bulletin No. 64 Autumn 2007 Affiliated to the British Entomological and Natural History Society Bulletin No. 64 Autumn 2007 ISSN 1358-5029 Bulletin Editor Darwyn Sumner Chairman John Ismay Vice Chairman Malcolm Smart Secretary John Kramer Treasurer Jon Cole Membership Sec. Mick Parker Field Meetings Sec. Roger Morris Indoor Meetings Sec. David Heaver Publicity Officer Judy Webb BAP species Officer Barbara Schulten Ordinary Members Chris Spilling, Alan Stubbs Contributions to this Bulletin Please note the following deadlines for the next two bulletins: Unelected Members Spring bulletin BENHS rep. Ken Merrifield Aims to be on your doorstep in the first two weeks of March, Dip. Digest Editor Peter Chandler contributions by the end of January, this is printed in February co-opted Alan Stubbs in time for the March workshop meeting. JCCBI representative John Dobson Autumn bulletin Aims to be on your doorstep in late September, contributions Recording Scheme Organisers by the end of July. Printed around the time of theAutumn Cranefly Alan Stubbs field meeting and in time to provide details of theAnnual Meeting. Fungus Gnats Peter Chandler The Bulletin is the Dipterists Forum’s means of reporting on Hoverflies S.Ball & R.Morris allof our activities to the membership. Larger Brachycera Simon Hayhow Would contributors please note that it takes a minimumof 4 Tephritid Laurence Clemons weeks to compile, edit, reproduce, collate and distribute each Sciomyzidae Ian McLean issue. Conopid David Clements Minor amendments or insertions may be negotiated during the Empid & Dollies Adrian Plant 2 weeks following these deadlines but major items must be in Anthomyiid Michael Ackland by the deadline. Dixidae R.H.L. Disney Website Culicidae K. Snow www.dipteristsforum.org.uk/ Sepsidae Steve Crellin Forum Tachinid Chris Raper www.dipteristsforum.org.uk/index.php Stilt & Stalk Darwyn Sumner PUBLISHED TWICE YEARLY Obtainable via subscription to Dipterists Forum: Annual Membership Forum - £6 (includes Dipterists Bulletin) Subscription to Dipterists Digest - £9 Contact Mr M. Parker, 9, East Wyld Road, Weymouth, Dorset, DT4 0RP - to whom all enquiries regarding delivery of this Bulletin should be addressed Editor: Darwyn Sumner 122, Link Road, Anstey, Charnwood, Leicestershire LE7 7BX. 0116 212 5075 [email protected] Articles submitted should be in the form of a word-processed file on disk or E-mail Please submit in native format and Rich Text Format (.rtf). An accompanying print-out would also be useful. Line artworks are encouraged. Please note the rather wide borders used in Dipterists Bulletin. For conformity with style would newsletter compilers please try to match this format. BULLETIN OF THE Dipterists Forum Affiliated to the British Entomological and Natural History Society Contents Forum news ...................................................................... 4 Editorial ..........................................................................................4 A Celtic Adventure ......................................................................................... 4 News from the schemes .................................................................5 Hoverfly Recording Scheme ...................................................................... 5 Larger Brachycera Recording Scheme ...................................................... 5 Sepsid Recording Scheme ......................................................................... 5 Notice board..................................................................... 6 Biodiversity Action Plans................................................................ 6 Final list of Diptera BAP species including common names .......................... 6 Adopt a species .............................................................................................. 8 Membership matters.................................................................... 13 Wonderful – the light has dawned on another dipterist ............................. 14 Review ............................................................................ 15 National Federation for Biological Recording............................. 15 Formal recognition for biological recording?.............................................. 15 Meetings......................................................................... 18 Reports ......................................................................................... 18 Annual General Meeting 2006 .................................................................... 18 Spring Workshop 2007 ................................................................................ 22 Spring Field Meeting 2007 - Norfolk Pingos ............................................... 23 The Dipterist Summer Field Meeting 2007 .................................................. 25 Forthcoming ................................................................................. 26 Annual Meeting and Dipterists Days 2007 .................................................. 26 Income and Expenditure account to 31st December 2006...................... 29 Balance Sheet as at 31st December 2006............................................... 29 And now... .................................................................................... 31 Fly sheets Hoverfly Recording Scheme Newsletter #43 Forum News Forum news Editorial A Celtic Adventure Up, into the hills. The criss-cross of long forgotten tracks, abandoned wayside huts. The village washing lines sobbed at the mountain wind. Sheep bleat and ponies whimper from the mountain top. Then down into the grim vale of y Styx. The blood red beetle drew up at the Aberystyx Hall: the slow, sad lilt of tear-flecked memories. Uncle Mort sighed deeply and said: “I wonder who invented hooks.” “I don’t know.” said Carter. “Neither do they.” Then down again into the town festooned and throttled with consonants. In the summer gales the gas lamps creaked like an optician’s laugh- ter. They found a pub with slumbering doors. They went inside. The pub was glum. “Silence for sale”, “Joy slashed by 15%”, “No glasses beyond this point”. The landlady drew them two pints of thin beer and they moved to a table under a wide moving screen of silent fat headed men. She followed them and sprayed a full can of toilet-freshener into the smoke-room. The thin head on their beers twinkled into non-existence. Carter choked, snatched up his pipe and stum- bled outside. Huddled on a tiny chair under a dripping fire escape he found a damp elderly gentleman wearing a crumpled hat, frayed coat and concertina trousers. He scratched with damp matches in the biting wind, a soggy roll-up clenched between his gums. “I really feel at home in this place” “Why?” “Well look about you. Pessimism run riot, despair run rampant, diptera-dearth in all its glory. Wales isn’t supposed to be cheerful. It’s the repository of all that is gloomy, melancholic and miserable.” “I’m as lonely as a hymenopterist’s sock.” “I’m as miserable as a dipterist’s elbows.” “Do you come from these parts?” Darwyn Sumner after Peter Tinniswood 4 Issue 64 Autumn 2007 Forum News News from the schemes A quiet time for the schemes at the moment, most organiser’s efforts are devoted to field work during the summer and it has been a particularly difficult year to discover anything at all. There are signs, however, of feverish activity in the background and we should shortly see some of the results of these efforts. It is most encouraging to see one of the moribund schemes picked up again, many thanks to Steve Crellin for stepping in to the Sepsidae Recording Scheme. Be prepared to net a few of these over the next season as I’m sure Steve will be chasing you all for records. Sooner than you think, perhaps: he tells me he intends to come to the Glasgow Annual Meeting. Scheme promotion at the Glasgow Annual Meeting Geoff Hancock, our host at the Glasgow Annual Meeting informs me that he is happy to provide a range of facilities to enable Scheme organisers to promote their schemes. I asked in particular about display boards - he has them, microscopes for identification workshop sessions - he has them, a computer projector for your Powerpoint or other presentations - he has this too! We had a similar session at Preston Montford a coupleofyears ago and several ofus were kept quite busy with identifications, so here is your opportunity to do your scheme a good turn. Don’t forget those Powerpoint scheme outlines I sent out to the Scheme organisers some time ago, they are ideal for a single poster if that is all you can manage - you could even send a print-out or an electronic version in your absence. Hoverfly Recording Scheme Newsletter # 43 included with this Bulletin David Iliff Larger Brachycera Recording Scheme Simon tells me that his intention is to stand down soon from organiser of this scheme but that he wishes to see the Atlas through first. Simon Hayhow Sepsid Recording Scheme Steve Crellin has kindly offered to take on this recording scheme, he tells me: Records can be in Mapmate or Spreadsheet format I have managed to get hold of the sepsid records on the NBN Gateway which are those used for the provisional atlas. So that is a start at least. He can be contacted at: Shearwater, The Dhoor, Andreas Road, Lezayre, Ramsey, Isle of Man, IM74EB, [email protected] Steve Crellin Issue 64 Autumn 2007 5 Notice board Notice board Biodiversity Action Plans Final list of Diptera BAP species including common names