Crabro peltarius (I reckon) busy catching flies along #DiggerAlley RSPB Minsmere 🌍 Sneaky little "Burrow Watcher" fly sneaks in after her, clearly up to no good. 2nd fly is huge - one for Dr Erica McAlister 😃Wait for the end to see the wasp punch into the hole! Steven Falk Prof Seirian Sumner

Today we hiked to Oaklands Falls near Hazelbrook in the #BlueMountains. This is where Australotettix montanus was first described and lo, huge crickets! 🦗 #entomology #WildOz

Bibio varipes ♂ and ♀...the common smaller St.Mark's fly species currently flying alongside the large Bibio marci in East Yorkshire...lanigerus and johannis have mostly gone for the year now. YNU Dipterists Forum

I haven't seen a live periodical #cicada on my own (though I hear them every day) but Alvin Braswell was kind enough to collect 2 spp. from his Raleigh property for me! First up, Cassin's 13-year cicada (#Magicicada tredecassini), a smaller, less common, mostly black species

17 MILLION insects migrate through a 30m Pyrenean mountain pass every autumn! They fly through the mountains on their remarkable journeys from northern Europe (including the UK) into Spain and beyond for the winter! Our new paper is out right now: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/epdf/10.10… 🧵

Starting my long road trip from Melbourne to Townsville to begin my postdoc at James Cook University with Jenni Donelson!

Urophora jaceana (Tephritidae) in copula on Knapweed...a delicate business given her rather aggressive ovipositor! YNU Dipterists Forum

Lispe tentaculata ♀ (Muscidae) taking a rest from preying on small dolichopodids at the edge of a pond on Allerthorpe Common Yorkshire Wildlife Trust reserve today. YNU UK Muscidae & Fanniidae Study Group Dipterists Forum

Cooooool Plagiocephalus latifrons (Henderson’s, 1909) - 1 of the many stalk-eyed flies & a dam fine specimen caught by Leshon Lee at #FlySchool24 There are many fly families with stalk eyed spp -some with antennae at end of stalks, but others the antennae still on head

Hhh I didnt know this but some Tabanid mothers guard their eggs. The Golden-haired Horse Fly Goniops chrysocoma found in North America is one such species. (image from iNaturalist © pgwamsley) #FlySchool24 Matt Bertone 🪰🕷️🪲

Really digging these hefty #Mesembrinella #flies (new one for me)! Formerly considered #Calliphoridae, they're now in their own family (w/other genera). Business [dull] in the front, party [iridescence] in the back! [2 individuals here] #Flyschool24 Soltis Center, Costa Rica

OK, this may be the best shot I've taken all trip, thanks to Geo pointing them out....in-flight mating dance #flies (#Empididae)!!! The female appears to be enjoying her gift. WONDERFUL!!! 😍😍😍😍😍 #FySchool24 Soltis Center, Costa Rica

How do traits determine invasiveness among populations and species? We seek a PhD applicant (start date prior to 30/06/25; fully funded PhD position) to explore this question using our model blowfly system! Details at: waikato.ac.nz/research/find-… Please RT!

A funded PhD project on invasive species, phenotypes, and flies! 🪰🪰🪰 Ang is an incredible & supportive supervisor. Anyone interested - apply!

The first phylogenetics paper from my fellowship is out as a preprint! We explore the Tree of Life for Southern Hemisphere cave crickets & reveal surprising phylogenetic + taxonomic diversity in Australia. 🦗🌏🧬 Read below 👇 biorxiv.org/content/10.110…

Fitness consequences of population bottlenecks in an invasive blowfly doi.org/10.1111/mec.17…

I'm seeking a PhD student for a funded scholarship to explore the role of cuticular hydrocarbons in sexual signaling & the trade-off between desiccation resistance & communication in NZ giraffe weevils. More details here: chrissiepainting.com/opportunities/ Please help spread the word!

New paper out of the lab led by Samm Reynolds (she/her) in collaboration with Scott Clem, PhD, based on an undergrad project by Blair Fitz A worldwide review of Syrphidae migration: doi.org/10.1111/een.13… The review is open access+summarizes over 150 years of work on syrph migration!

Spider-fly, spider-fly, does whatever...not to die 😅 Members of the picture-winged #fly genus #Xanthacrona (#Ulidiidae) have a scutellum w/fake "eyes" & patterned wings. A convincing 🕷️ mimic to fool predators trying to sneak up on them! #FlySchool24 Soltis Center, Costa Rica

I recently found this copy of Flies of the British Isles by Colyer & Hammond in the local bookshop here in Falmouth, Cornwall. A beautiful mid 20th century book, and those illustrations...!