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Dave Brice

@davebriceflies.bsky.social
1.3K followers 1.4K following 178 posts

Fascinated by insects, especially flies, studies Sphaeroceridae. Diptera identification services, morphological illustrations, and high-quality imaging. Bespoke identification training is also available.

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Reposted by Dave Brice
Prof. Jeff Ollerton @jeffollerton.bsky.social · 19h
Want to conserve #birds, #mammals and other vertebrates? Then don’t forget their #insects. Our new Nature Reviews Biodiversity paper explores the many ways vertebrates depend on insects — for food, shelter, protection and much more. I’ve written about it here: jeffollerton.co.uk/2026/09/30/w...
jeffollerton.co.uk
Want to conserve birds and mammals? Then conserve their insects – our new paper in Nature Reviews Biodiversity sets out the details
It’s sometimes easy to forget quite how much of the living world depends upon insects. That might seem an odd thing for someone who has spent much of his career studying insects and their relations…
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Judy Webb @judywebb.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Flies can be hard to identify. Here is some potential help!
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Dave Brice @davebriceflies.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Calling ecologists! Diptera backlog? Need ID work done before next season? Planning lots of diptera work next year? We can help! Please contact me for Diptera ID, full species lists and conservation status etc, see dipteraid.co.uk/projects/ Please share Conicera tibialis (Phoridae) for interest.
Conicera tibialis (Phoridae)  tiny fly with huge pointed antenna
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Dave Brice @davebriceflies.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Calling ecologists! Diptera backlog? Need ID work done before next season? Planning lots of diptera work next year? We can help! Please contact me for Diptera ID, full species lists and conservation status etc, see dipteraid.co.uk/projects/ Please share Conicera tibialis (Phoridae) for interest.
Conicera tibialis (Phoridae)  tiny fly with huge pointed antenna
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Liam Olds @liamolds.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
🌿 Help shape a new wildlife & heritage project in the Ogmore Valley! @gloinatur.bsky.social are exploring a potential project at Ogmore Washeries and Wyndham/Western Colliery, bringing wildlife, coal-mining heritage and community activities together. We’d love to hear from local people! 👇
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DipteristsForum @dipteristsforum.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
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Phil Sturgeon 🌳🚵⚓️ @philsturgeon.com · 25/09/2026
Fine I’ll sneak out this one beaver video of matey just milling around, but if you want to see matey boy washing their belly and being cute as hell you gotta follow @protect.earth first.
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Simon Knott @sjbknott.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Chrysopa dorsalis yesterday in Bengeo garden, rare lacewing associated with Pines. One of two green lacewing species with significant darkened markings on head & body. Head pattern distinguishes it from much commoner perla. @kitenet.bsky.social #Neuroptera #attractedtolight
Chrysopa dorsalisChrysopa dorsalis head pattern which confirms ID
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Gary Lawrence @garysworld.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I've followed, have you? 🤔
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DipteristsForum @dipteristsforum.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Fly Research & Conservation Virtual Symposium 21 Oct 2026 | 10:00 - 13:00 | Tickets £1 - £30 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1981718540... Featuring the brilliant minds of: @flygirlnhm.bsky.social Erica McAlister @denisewawman.bsky.social Denise Wawman Ian McGowan Meghan Barrett @biologicalrecording.co.uk
eventbrite.co.uk
Fly Research and Conservation Virtual Symposium
Join us during Insect Week to explore some of the latest research and conservation projects about true flies (Diptera).
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Brigit Strawbridge @brigitstrawbridge.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Calling walkers, birders, nature lovers, or anyone fancying a break... October & November dates available in our new BnB, if anyone's interested? On the southern edge of Bodmin Moor, which is a great place to explore, and wonderfully peaceful at this time of year www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/173324...
airbnb.co.uk
Guest suite in Tremar Coombe · ★5.0 · 1 bedroom · 1 bed · 1 bathroom
Beautifully renovated annexe near Bodmin Moor
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Little Green Space @lgspace.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
A request! We can't grow this account fast enough. So please follow us if you aren't already, and please share this post to spread the word. Help us do our bit to share positive solutions to the nature & climate emergencies, and bring more nature into people's lives. Thank you 😊🐝
A bumblebee on a yellow dandelion
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DipteristsForum @dipteristsforum.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Diary Date - 2027 Dipterist Forum spring identification workshop will be on... Dolichopodidae! This hugely popular annual event will run 12th -14th March with tutors Martin Drake (author of the new RES Dolichopodidae Handbook) and Dave Brice (DF training officer). dipterists.org.uk/events/dipte...
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Dr Rebecca Warren @drrjwarren.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
#ArtDD2026 ‘Well hello’ From my archive. @saocousins.bsky.social @holnicotenh.bsky.social @stevecobbin.bsky.social @andykaitken.bsky.social @indikon.eurosky.social
Painting of snake’s head, looking up and to the right. It has coppery scales on the top of its head and neck, whiter ones below. Thr eye is chestnut brown with a big black pupil.
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Little Green Space @lgspace.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Dear councils, 97% of UK meadows are gone. So if you have wildflowers like ox-eye daisies on roadverges and in public spaces, don't spray them with weedkiller or over-mow them. Let's give pollinating insects like bees and butterflies a chance 🐝
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BENHS @britentsoc.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
BENHS – Dinton Pastures October 17 @ 10:30 am - 4:00 pm Tachinid fly identification workshop – Chris Raper and Matt Smith benhs.org.uk/events/ To book a place please mail, supplying a contact phone: indoormeetings@benhs.org.uk Image: Marc Taylor
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Rob Denton @rddenton.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Boosting this back out there. Just a couple weeks to apply!
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Ian Andrews @suillia.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Fungi are appearing in woods now, marking the start of Suillia season, as these spiny-winged flies hold territory atop their chosen cap. Suillia notata here at Cali Heath @yorkswildlife.bsky.social reserve today. ID help here... dipterists.org.uk/heleomyzid-s... @dipteristsforum.bsky.social
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DipteristsForum @dipteristsforum.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Lots of Diptera 'good stuff' coming up in October from those nice people at @biologicalrecording.co.uk. The days are getting colder and the nights are drawing in so let's get prepped ready for next year! dipterists.org.uk/events/robbe... dipterists.org.uk/events/surve... @flygirlnhm.bsky.social
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Shivaji Shiva @shivajishivalaw.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
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Ian Andrews @suillia.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
It's that late summer time of year when parasitic tachinid flies are abundant...these all in numbers at the @ldvnnr.bsky.social centre at Bank Island yesterday. Tachina fera, Linnaemya picta, Phasia obesa and Voria ruralis...bugs and moths beware! @ynuorg.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social
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Lin Hawthorne @haggewoods.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Should you wish to indulge your love of beetles (and why wouldn’t you) this brilliant and scholarly website will certainly help. It’s a work of art by a human. www.rosspiper.net/2020/01/10/s...
rosspiper.net
Saproxylic beetles - Dr. Ross Piper
This is an intro and visual guide to the extraordinary diversity of beetle species associated with dead and decaying wood in the UK. Numbering some 650 species, this habitat supports the greatest dive...
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Biological Recording Company @biologicalrecording.co.uk · 08/09/2026
Learn about the UK's bee-flies with @kitenet.bsky.social. Discover all 9 mainland UK species, their identification, ecology, behaviour, mimicry, life cycles, habitats & recording techniques 🌎 🧪 Ideal for naturalists, ecologists and recorders. 🔗 courses.biologicalrecording.co.uk/courses/bee-...
courses.biologicalrecording.co.uk
Bee-flies of the UK Online Course
Learn to identify the 9 UK bee-fly species with entomologist Dr Tony Madgwick. Explore bee-fly ecology, life cycles, mimicry, key ID features, and recording through Bee-fly Watch. Includes expert guid...
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Charlie Bingham @charliebingham.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
I'm skint & on the hunt for some extra work please let me know if I can help with your event management, social media management, writing projects, voice overs or anything else(within reason ha). I have worked with the RSPB, World Land Trust and Curlew Action, book industry + more! Thanks!
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Martyn Brunt @skybluebrunty.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
This is wonderful.
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DipteristsForum @dipteristsforum.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
2026 DF Dipterists Day will be at National Museum Wales, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3NP Sat Nov 14th hosted by Dr Thom Dallimore, Senior Curator in Entomology. The Museum Diptera collections will be available to view Fri 13th, with the Dipterists Supper that eve. dipterists.org.uk/events/dipte...
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Judy Webb @judywebb.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Grapefruit skins & the search for the larvae of one of the rarest flies in the UK - the Barred Green Colonel. Larvae live in wet moss in a rare habitat - a calcareous (lime-rich) alkaline spring-fen in just one site. Great work by the SRT! @dipteristsforum.bsky.social @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social
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Martin Harvey @kitenet.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
My son is a scout leader and his group is fund-raising to keep their building safe and secure gofund.me/2a08c7561 - they do a brilliant job for local kids, any donations and re-posts welcome 🙏
gofund.me
Donate to Scout hut refurbishment project, organized by Nina Sweet
Want to join us in making a difference? We are raising money to benefit PRINCES RISBOROUGH … Nina Sweet needs your support for Scout hut refurbishment project
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Gregory Norminton @gregorynorminton.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Let's get this petition to 100,000 by the weekend.
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Ash Whiffin @ashwhiffin.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
We currently have TWO collections-based vacancies at National Museums Scotland! As part of the upcoming DiSSCo UK program, we’re seeking a Digitiser and Senior digitiser to work with our insect collection: careers.nms.ac.uk/vacancies (Apply by 31st August) #Digitisation #Insects #MuseumJobs
An multi-camera imaging set-up at NMSPreserved bumblebee specimens with data labels below each individual
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BioMongol Foundation @biomongol.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
We also love the smallest of flies! Check out this new paper by Martin J. Ebejer, about the silver flies of #Mongolia ( #Chamaemyiidae), presenting 20 species: 1 new to science, and 7 new to Mongolia! Collected on 2 expeditions from BioMongol Foundation. www.biomongol.org/download/ebe...
biomongol.org
Ebejer 2026 – Recent records of Chamaemyiidae (Diptera: Acalyptratae) from Mongolia, with description of a new species of Parochthiphila Becker – BioMongol Foundation
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Matt Bertone @bertonemyia.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Check out these flies! . . . And of course the amazing eyelash viper 😜 😂 🥰 #Ceratopogonidae #Viperidae: #Bothriechis supraciliaris #FlySchool2026 Costa Rica
A close up of a brown eyelash viper face showing a few blood-feeding biting midges.A small brown viper wrapped around a small twig, facing down.
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John Walters @johnwalterswildife.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Red Data Book Lagoon Snout cranefly Geranomyia bezzii. Dawlish Warren, Devon last night. 25 newly eclosed flies found amongst Salicornia. It has been suggested that this species has peaks of activity in the tidal cycle. With the full moon this evening this may be evidence of this. Thx Kev Rylands.
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Biological Recording Company @biologicalrecording.co.uk · 28/07/2026
Last chance to book on this evening's free webinar about curlews and nature-friendly farming. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/curlew-con... @curlewaction.bsky.social
eventbrite.co.uk
Curlew Conversations: Nature-friendly Farming
Join us to hear from two farmers and their experiences of farming with curlews and other wildlife in mind.
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Phil Saunders @beardybirder.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
I've been enjoying the antics of these tiny Knapweed gall flies (Urophora quadrifasciata) in the Upton garden flower meadow over the last few days- spectacular looking little insects with a really cool courtship display #diptera
A pair of tiny, black, Urophora quadrifasciata gall flies rest on the frayed buff and lilac seedhead of a Knapweed plant. One of the flies, on the right of the image, has spread its wings in display, showing off the four bold brown stripes on each wing that give the species its scientific name.
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John Walters @johnwalterswildife.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Blue Ground Beetle eating a Tree Slug. Once caught it injects digestive juices into the slug turning it into 'slug soup' then sucks up its insides. Dartmoor, Devon. I will be talking about the conservation of this amazing beetle at Coombeshead Farm Devon next weekend keepitwild.uk/if-not-now-w...
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Erica McAlister @flygirlnhm.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Physocephala rufipes - the Waisted Beegrabber This should be more appropriately be called the bumblebeegrabber as it’s been reared from a variety of species. It was hanging around in a beautiful meadow in West Sussex @dipteristsforum.bsky.social
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UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) @ukceh.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
It was buzzing at the #BeesNeedsWeek Science Festival at RHS Wisley. Visitors discovered how easy it is to support pollinator science by spending 10 minutes counting pollinating insects on flowers 🐝🌼 Take time in nature with your own FIT Count for @pomscheme.bsky.social ukpoms.org.uk/fit-counts
Three people look at ragwort flowers to count pollinatorsTwo people bend down to look at ragwort flowersTable of information leaflets about various insectsPeople at an information desk chatting
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Lukas Large @lukaslarge.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
One of the best bees! Love watching them excavating their nests
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Erica McAlister @flygirlnhm.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Day 2 of @globalbirdfair.bsky.social So much fun. Art, nature, slugs, pan species listing @graemelyons.bsky.social, trying to ban robins, successfully banning Monarch Butterflies @intothewildpod.bsky.social and stories to inspire @buglife.bsky.social
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Erica McAlister @flygirlnhm.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
So a weekend of persuading bird folks that they should move on from loving the two legged to the six legged creatures… Maybe I’ll start off with Craneflies to ease them in gently (they never have the full set) @globalbirdfair.bsky.social @royentsoc.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social
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DipteristsForum @dipteristsforum.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
The Dipterist Forum Summer Field Meeting starts today in Somerset! By exploring a wide range of habitats across 56 sites over a week, thousands of new Diptera records will give a clearer picture of the abundance, distribution and ecology of this much over looked Order of insects. #fliesarefantastic
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Phil Sturgeon 🌳🚵⚓️ @philsturgeon.com · 09/07/2026
Looking for experienced scythers to come and teach scything classes at Warleigh Nature Reserve, Bath, end of summer. We’ve got a calcareous grassland to work on and we’re going for heritage low carbon methods for as much of the cut as we can.
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Erica McAlister @flygirlnhm.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
We gave thanks & celebration on Monday for Peter Chandler - an extraordinary man, a great dipterist & a kind & generous spirit Check out the 10 year old Peter’s answers in his I-Spy entomology book- they made me smile & feel grateful to have known such a great man @dipteristsforum.bsky.social
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Martin Harvey @kitenet.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
From the garden light trap last week: Scarce Black #soldierfly (Eupachygaster tarsalis) male & female, first time I've seen this species here in 20-odd years of trapping. @joebeale.bsky.social & others have also reported them from light traps. @vc28nature.bsky.social @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social
A side view of the female Scarce Black soldierfly, on a leaf, with head to the left. Note the sharp rim around the scutellum.A side view of the male Scarce Black soldierfly, on a leaf, with head to the right. Also has a sharp rim around the scutellum (less clear in this photo).Comparison between females of Eupachygaster tarsalis (Scarce Black) and the more widespread Pachygaster atra (Dark-winged Black).
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Erica McAlister @flygirlnhm.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
This weekend Erica McAlister. In the Library. With the maggots. Come along to The Repton Festival and listen to me wax lyrical about the planets finest creatures. Stay for a weekend of curated, eclectic arts events from Friday 3rd to Sunday 5th July 2026. 🪰@dipteristsforum @royentsoc.bsky.social
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Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme @uk-soldierflies.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Make sure you click and expand this great photo to see the #soldierfly in its full glory 🤩 @dipteristsforum.bsky.social
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Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust @bbowt.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
🪰 We’re celebrating the UK’s flies! Flies don’t always get the appreciation they deserve. They play hugely important roles in our ecosystems, but they’re also amazing in their own right. They can be beautiful, colourful and wonderfully weird.
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Judy Webb @judywebb.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
A fabulous soldierfly, increasingly commonly found these days, even around garden ponds
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Dave Brice @davebriceflies.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
I think 'small dog' has the best idea, one of several cool dens.
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