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BULLETIN OF THE Dipterists Forum Bulletin No. 77 Spring 2014 Affiliated to the British Entomological and Natural History Society Bulletin No. 77 Spring 2014 ISSN 1358-5029 Editorial panel Bulletin Editor Darwyn Sumner Assistant Editor Judy Webb Dipterists Forum Officers Chairman Martin Drake Vice Chairman Stuart Ball Secretary Nathan Medd Meetings Treasurer Howard Bentley Please use the Booking Form included in Bulletins or downloaded from our Membership Sec. John Showers website Field Meetings Sec. vacancy Field Meetings (next 3 meetings only) Indoor Meetings Sec. Duncan Sivell Roger Morris 7 Vine Street, Stamford, Lincolnshire PE9 1QE Publicity Officer Erica McAlister [email protected] Conservation Officer Rob Wolton Workshops & Indoor Meetings Organiser Duncan Sivell Ordinary Members Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD [email protected] Chris Spilling, Malcolm Smart, Vicky Burton Chris Raper, Mark Pajak, Peter Boardman Bulletin contributions Unelected Members Please refer to guide notes in this Bulletin for details of how to contribute and send your material to both of the following: Dipterists Digest Editor Peter Chandler Dipterists Bulletin Editor Darwyn Sumner Secretary 122, Link Road, Anstey, Charnwood, Leicestershire LE7 7BX. Nathan Medd Tel. 0116 212 5075 19 Station Road, Wivenhoe, Essex CO7 9DH [email protected] [email protected] Assistant Editor Treasurer Judy Webb Howard Bentley 2 Dorchester Court, Blenheim Road, Kidlington, Oxon. OX5 2JT. 37, Biddenden Close, Bearsted, Maidstone, Kent. ME15 8JP Tel. 01865 377487 Tel. 01622 739452 [email protected] [email protected] Conservation Dipterists Digest contributions Robert Wolton Locks Park Farm, Hatherleigh, Oakhampton, Devon EX20 3LZ Dipterists Digest Editor Tel. 01837 810416 [email protected] Peter Chandler 606B Berryfield Lane, Melksham, Wilts SN12 6EL Tel. 01225-708339 Publicity [email protected] Erica McAlister - [email protected] Recording Scheme Organisers Annual Subscription 2014 See back page for full details Obtainable via subscription to Dipterists Forum, contact John Showers Annual Membership (N.B. Overseas = £25 total) Forum - £8 (includes Dipterists Bulletin) Website Subscription to Dipterists Digest - £12 Web Manager Membership Secretary Stuart Ball John Showers 255 Eastfield Road Peterborough PE1 4BH 103, Desborough Road, Rothwell, Kettering, Northamptonshire NN14 [email protected] 6QJ [email protected] Dipterists Forum Website www.dipteristsforum.org.uk/ to whom all enquiries regarding delivery of this Bulletin should be addressed Dipterists Forum Forum www.dipteristsforum.org.uk/index.php Photographs: Front cover Sericomyia superbiens from Norfolk, September 2013 Darwyn Sumner, Stuart Ball says that’s what we’ve got to call it now, “Arctophila fulva” had so much more cachet. Other photographs as supplied by the authors or the editorial panel who would be pleased to receive illustrations for general purposes - many thanks for those already sent. If you want to catch the next front cover, please think about the orientation, it must be upright (portrait) BULLETIN OF THE Dipterists Forum Contents Editorial 4 Notice board 5 Recording Schemes _________________________________________________________ 5 County Recorders ___________________________________________________________ 6 Museum Collections _________________________________________________________ 9 Conservation 12 UK BAP & Adopt a species _________________________________________________ 13 Photography 15 Members 16 Membership Matters ______________________________________________________ 16 Review 21 Meetings 25 Role of Field meeting Secretary ____________________________________________ 25 Reports ____________________________________________________________________ 25 Dipterists Day 2013 ________________________________________________________ 26 Forthcoming _______________________________________________________________ 32 Field meetings 2014 _______________________________________________________ 32 Contents And now ________________________________________________________________ 34 Contributing Bulletin items ________________________________________________ 34 Dipterists Forum Events Reports More recording at Dundreggan in July 2013 Annual Meeting 2013 ______________________________________________________ 26 Saturday 23rd & Sunday 24th November 2013 Annual General Meeting __________________________________________________ 29 Forthcoming Field meetings 2014 Swanage 16-18 May 2104 32 Bangor, North Wales 5-12 July 32 Sherwood Forest 32 Annual Meeting 2014 Carlisle 22-23 November 32 Events Calendar 2014 & 2015 ___________________________________________ 32 8th International Congress of Dipterology Potsdam, Germany, 10-15 August 2014 Dipterists Forum Events The following Newsletters and other special items are incorporated into the package for the printers after com- pletion of the Bulletin. They are not to be found in any pdf version of this Bulletin and they have their own pagi- nation. Please contact the Newsletter editors for full colour pdfs, back issues may also be found on DF website. Hoverfly Newsletter #56 Cranefly Newsletter #27 Fungus Gnat Newsletter #7 Booking form for meetings - see this or previous Bulletins & Dipter- ists Forum website Membership form Fly Sheets Desktop publishing: Darwyn Sumner Forum News Editorial An introduction to flies editors to ensure a smooth transition, good luck to him. It is hard to imagine a better introduction to Natural History than We’ve also an influx of new people on the general Committee so the one presided over by Leonard Kidd when I was first indoctri- expect some interesting Bulletin contributions and “profile raising” nated as a youth. Werneth Park Study Centre (the former mansion from the Natural History Museum, Field Studies Centre and the of Marjory Lees) housed a natural history collection, two ancient Species Dictionary afficionados. weekly natural history societies (Monday & Friday nights), a huge natural history library and Leonard’s office filled with fascinating Report on Local Authority Planning diptera collections. Encouragement was there by the bucket load, The Association of Local Government Ecologists (ALGE) have Peter Skidmore and Colin Johnson were regulars at the Oldham published a report recently concerning the competence of English Natural History Society meetings in the days before they went on Local Authority Planners in delivering their statutory obligations to higher things elsewhere and we once or twice met up with Roy for biodiversity. The Planning system is the only process we have Crossley and his acolytes in the field when Saddleworth was still to ensure that our sites are protected and it’s where our efforts to Yorkshire. Even my Biology teacher, Dave Hallett, was a regular record wildlife play an important part in conservation. The report and part of the team that got us all working on the famous 1971 shows that many local planning authorities do not currently have Holden Clough report. either the capacity and/or the competence to undertake the effec- When I found the scarcer Odonata tive, and in some cases necessarily lawful, assessment of planning too elusive to pursue much further applications where biodiversity is a material consideration. Entitled (hitch-hiking to Coulin for Aeshna “Ecological capacity and competence in English Planning caerulescens and not finding it,) Authorities” it is to be found at http://www.cieem.net/news/158/ Leonard kindly gave me my first alge-publish-report-on-ecological-capacity-and-competence-in-english- introduction to Diptera, a copy planning-authorities (inscribed by him) of Colyer and Here’s one quote from the report: Whilst biodiversity is an ac- Hammond’s “Flies of the British knowledged material consideration in the planning system, its Isles” and numerous papers on importance to many local authorities in relation to their obliga- Craneflies and Syrphidae. I’ve tions for statutory-based decision making appears not to be given progressed; with Diptera I can sufficient priority. As a result, with current budget restrictions the now not find many more species. use of specialist input seems to be considered an ‘optional extra’. Sadly little of all that now sur- In respect of Natural England’s Standing Advice, this is one of vives, my wife (then a Librarian in the least well used sources of ecological advice likely to influence Oldham) took me to see the library planners’ judgement over whether biodiversity will be affected as a huge mound on the floor of a by an application. For instance, 27% of Local Authorities in the branch library back room, the collections were dispersed and the survey report that they only ever use it ‘occasionally’ or ‘rarely’, ONHS folded after we lost the rooms. The Oldham Microscopical and 22% ‘never’ refer to it. and Natural History Society (the “Oldham Micro” or “the muck Biodiversity Offsetting and worm club”) still thrives (http://www.oldham-micro.org.uk/ ,) There’s a report on the Guardian website about this with respect Leonard Kidd was responsible for a good deal of encouragement to ancient woodlands (http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/ to aspiring naturalists, it’s sad to see him go, many thanks to him jan/04/ancient-woodland-cut-down-biodiversity-offsetting) and a recent and to Peter Chandler for compiling a superb obituary in this “ancient trees are sacrosanct” appeal by Tony Juniper in Indepen- Bulletin. dent on Sunday (33 ancient woodlands will