Dave Brice

@davebriceflies.bsky.social

1240 Followers 1344 Following

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

Our Border Terrier on the sofa watching Springwatch, lots of interesting animals
Unidentified Machimus robberfly from Tenerife, Mt Teide. Stunning looking fly even if no-one knows a species as yet. #worldrobberflyday
A Tephritid fly Merzomyia westermanni, an orange/yellow coloured species with distinctly marked multicoloured wings
Image of the book, British Dolichopodidae by Martin Drake. The cover showing Poecilobothrus nobilitatus
Newly made pond, galvanised tub, pond liner surrounded by deadwood with a concrete pig guarding the edge!
Image of a Lesser Dung Fly (Sphaeroceridae)
Three makeshift containers, with funnels and tubes to catch flies emerging from old bird nests.
The head of a Sciomyzid snail killing fly Coremacera marginata.
Nearing the end of a challenging job from Tenerife, just 90 Sarcophagidae to go! 😥 At least this one doesn't look like all of the others; Miltogramma aurifrons. Image of a small, dumpy fly with large eyes and extended margin to the front of the face.
Coenosia ruficornis (Muscidae) Head and thorax form above
Just felt liking putting on some fly piccies! 🙂 Rhipidia maculata; Head of a cranefly with pectinate antenna
A large 18mm Robberfly, (Tolmerus .sp) from Tenerife, Canary Islands. Yet to be identified.
A massive ancient Sweet Chestnut tree from a Devon estate with a small Border Terrier showing how huge it actually is.
A small garden with tomato plants, flowering herbs and flowers with Red-tailed Bumblebee, hoverflies including Scaeva pyrastri, Eristalis tenax, Syritta pipiens and Melanostoma .spp; other Diptera, mainly Lucilia .sp on flowering herbs and 2 Gatekeeper butterflies 4 x 4.5m, 3 years ago was bare walls and gravel
A microscope with a box of mounted and labelled flies ready for determining
Op Wallacea volunteers learning to pin flies; four people working with microscopes
A group of ecologists working on habitat classification by Identifying plants
An apple with a large hole in the side containing a Hornet
Day 3 teaching; but not teaching this morning, so out helping another staff member survey a pond (ID'ing plants, carrying stuff and writing down what I'm told to)! 😅 Worse ways to spend a sunny morning. Now back to sample processing. Picture of a pond, with trees surrounding it, an island of sedge and loads of waterlilies.
Day 2 @kneppwilding.bsky.social Lesson 1, how to put your head in a net 🙂 Sweep netting, sorting and pinning followed by Malaise trap sample ID . @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @kneppwildlandfdn.bsky.social outdoor classrooms with loads of practical learning!
Mini collection and sampling kit for Op Wallacea volunteers, Pooter, tweezers, collection pots and pinning tray
First day at @kneppwilding.bsky.social ready for two weeks of teaching collection techniques and specimen processing. Been out exploring and introducing myself to the locals, White Stork, Purple Emperor, Purple Hairstreak a few of the early bonuses. @flygirlnhm.bsky.social #flies #teaching
Side view of the head and thorax of a scarce Muscid, Nr Buxton, R. Wye, low veg, buttercups. Phaonia villana.
Empis digramma from i@dipteristsforum.bsky.social Spring Field trip 2025, Peak District. Swept from Buttercup. An orange and brown predatory fly with very long proboscis
Ephydrid (Diptera) from 2024, Hyadina guttata #ecology #dipteraid
Dolichopus diadema, a long-legged fly from marshy areas on s'Albufereta NNR Mallorca 2023, showing the extended ventral part of the face.
Latest Family determined from s'Albufereta in Mallorca 2023. Dolichopodidae done! Quite challenging in places but here is Thinophilus flavipalpis, quite a set of palps! New to the Balearics I think unless anyone has more up to date info. A long legged predatory fly with huge yellow palps.
Looking forward to visiting s'Albufera and s'Albufereta reserves in Mallorca again soon, in the meantime Lispe nana (Muscidae) from shallow muddy areas on s'Albufereta 2023. @mmcminn.bsky.social www.dipteraid.co.uk #ecology #flies
Comprehensive true flies ID service for ecological consultancies, landowners, govt agencies, conservation orgs; all sizes of projects undertaken. 1st fly this year (in the house), Hydrophoria linogrisea, Anthomyiidae, larvae found under bark and poss predatory. A dark grey Calyptrate fly with yellow legs
Playing with images of black and shiny flies for when I eventually get to writing a new key; hopefully. Alloborborus pallifrons (Sphaeroceridae; Copromyzinae) a smart small fly, very 'spikey'. Larvae develop in horse dung (usually), not a species I find often.
A black soldierfly with orange antenna, yellow tibia and tarsi. The wings are blackened in the basal half. Pachygaster atra (Stratiomyidae), female has orange antenna (males are black). From grassland on a hillfort in Devon. Wet woodland nearby. #ecology #flies #diptera
A small brown fly with red eyes. A nice challenge today, small Sphaeroceridae from a cave in the Philippines, it took a while but fun! Found ID from a 1968 paper on Hawaiian species. Meet Spinilimosina rufifrons. Needed dissection, distinctive bits helped.
Not seeing many posts about flies lately, so here's Geomyza tripunctata, separated in females (if the scutum is orange) from the very similar G. nartshukae, by the shape of sternite 8. From calcareous grassland in Devon this year. #ecology #flies www.dipteraid.co.uk #dipteraidentification #imaging The fly is mainly red/orange with three dark marks on each wing.
Gigalimosina flaviceps a Sphaerocerid fly with a yellow face, frons antenna and front coxa. Mostly caught in pitfall or light traps in woodland as they prefer to be under leaf litter, they also inhabit limestone caves.
Anyone have a pdf of RES Handbook Vol 10 Part 14. An introduction to the immature stages of British Flies. Diptera Larvae please? It's out of print and the link on the RES website appears to be broken. Blaesoxipha plumicornis, Sarcophagidae for interest. www.dipteraid.co.uk
Simulium reptans, this is a male with large facets at the top of the eyes and smaller ones below. Females feed on mammals including humans
Image of the cover of https://bshnb.shnb.org/ paper on a new species of Drapetis (Hybotidae) and updates on Chersodromia oraria
Dryomyza anilis an orange fly from local wet woodland in Devon this year
An enlargement showing the head of Ravinia pernix a Sarcophagid 'flesh fly'
A large Sarcophagid fly, Ravinia pernix, mottled black and white with a red rear-end.
#Blackflyday a bit late but here's an almost all black Empid; Empis femorata, super chunky Dance Fly with a very long 'stabby' proboscis
Suillia affinis, a Heleomyzid fly found in local Devon wet woodlands
Two views of the head of Coremacera marginata, a stunning Sciomyzid (Snail Killer) Fly, white arista and black setae on the tip of the antenna
Picture winged fly, Merzomyia westermanni, Tephritidae