Identification Guides – Diptera

Printed

British Soldierflies & their allies by Alan Stubbs & Martin Drake (BENHS 2nd ed 2014).

British Craneflies by Alan Stubbs & Steven Falk (BENHS 2021)

British Hoverflies by Alan Stubbs & Steven Falk (BENHS 2nd ed 2002)

Britain’s Hoverflies: A Field Guide by Stuart Ball & Roger Morris (Princeton WILDGuides 2nd  edition 2015). A 3rd edition is due in 2024

Websites

Dipterists Forum is the membership society for all kinds of flies. Its website provides useful guidance about finding and identifying flies. Their members have access to forums, including ’Learn about Flies’. 

Families of British Diptera

How to identify Hoverflies by Discover Wildlife

UK Hoverflies  – Facebook Page

Google Lens: Go to google.com and there is a camera icon at the right of the search bar. Click on this, and you can drag and drop any image and it will do its best to identify it – so can be used for any flora and fauna, vertebrates and invertebrates etc. (as well as buildings, landscapes – anything, in fact.)  Worth a look, but treat identifications with caution!

Apps