Agromyzidae
All images on this website have been taken in Leicestershire and Rutland by NatureSpot members. We welcome new contributions - just register and use the Submit Records form to post your photos. Click on any image below to visit the species page. The RED / AMBER / GREEN dots indicate how easy it is to identify the species - see our Identification Difficulty page for more information. A coloured rating followed by an exclamation mark denotes that different ID difficulties apply to either males and females or to the larvae - see the species page for more detail.
Flies
True flies (order Diptera) are an immense group with over 100,000 known species. They all have their hind pair of wings reduced to pin-shaped structures called halteres which act as gyroscopes to maintain balance in flight. Most feed on liquids, including nectar and blood.
The Dipterist's Forum offers a huge range of support for those interested in this group.
The families in the gallery below represent flies that are in the dipteran sub-orders Brachycera and Cyclorrhapha which are 'higher' flies, meaning later to evolve than the Nematocera which are displayed in the Craneflies, Gnats & Midges gallery. All families are displayed in taxonomic order. Note that Hoverflies (Syrphidae family) are displayed in a separate gallery.
Leicestershire and Rutland resources
LESOPS 38 - Conopidae VC55 Status - Ray Morris
LESOPS 39 - Tephritidae VC55 Status - Ray Morris
LESOPS 40 - 40 Dipteran Families (up to 10 species) VC55 Status - Ray Morris
LESOPS 41 - Pediciidae VC55 Status - Ray Morris
LESOPS 43 - Tipulidae VC55 Status - John Kramer, Ray Morris
LESOPS 44 - Sciomyzidae VC55 Status - Ray Morris
LESOPS 45 - Dipteran Families 11-20 species VC Status - Ray Morris
LESOPS 46 - Limoniidae: Chioneinae VC55 Status - Ray Morris
LESOPS 50 - Dolichopodidae VC55 Status - Ray Morris
LESOPS 51 - Limoniidae: Limnophilinae & Limoniinae VC55 Status - Ray Morris, John Kramer
LESOPS 52 - Asilidae, Psilidae & Scatopsidae VC55 Status - Ray Morris
LESOPS 54 - Tachinidae VC55 Status - Ray Morris
LESOPS 55 - Ceratopogonidae, Chironomidae, Mycetophilidae, Phoridae, Sphaeroceridae VC55 Status - Ray Morris
Keys
Mike's Insect Keys - an excellent range of free illustrated keys to many fly families.
Other useful websites and publications
UK Diptera Facebook Group - great resource for posting images for national experts to comment on and identify.
The Dipterist's Forum offers a huge range of support.
Diptera.info - a forum site with some photos but best used to get identification help. Just upload an image and be surprised how quickly you get a response.
Fly anatomy -a fascinating and interactive guide to the technical bits that make up a fly! If you're serious about identifying flies it is necessary to understand the terms used.
British Soldierflies and Their Allies (BENHS) Alan Stubbs, Martin Drake: a Field Guide to the Larger British Brachycera
Blowflies - Olga Sivell. A superb and comprehensive RES key and guide to UK blowflies (Calliphoridae, Polleniidae, Rhiniidae)
If you know of other websites or books that you would recommend, do let us know: info@naturespot.org
Agromyzidae
The Agromyzidae are a family of very small flies, commonly called 'leaf-miner flies' for their larval feeding habits. The larvae of most species mine leaves, or occasionally stems, seeds or roots. Leaf-mining is a specialised form of feeding where the larval stages of the fly are spent feeding between the upper and lower epidermis of a leaf. Many species are monophagous - i.e. live on a specific plant - and in many cases the host-plant and feeding pattern caused by the larva, including the arrangement of frass, can be used to identify the species. Sometimes detailed examination of the larva or puparium is also needed, and in some cases, the only option is to rear the adult fly.
The National Agromyzidae Recording Scheme website ( https://agromyzidae.co.uk/) is a superb resource for this family, and much more information on larval feeding, insect morphology and other features of the Agromyzidae can be found here. The site lists all known UK species, with descriptions of the mines and the life stages of the species, plus information on UK status and distribution, host plants, confusion species and phenology. NatureSpot is indebted to this scheme for much of the information shown on the species pages below.
Take clear backlit photographs of the whole leaf-mine, from both leaf surfaces, showing frass pattern and location of mine within leaf or other part of plant. Always note the host plant accurately.
