Any recommendations for a non-entomologist to get into fly ID and biology? I’ve been getting more and more interested in flies recently. I was wondering whether anyone had any good resources to recommend for learning more about fly ID and biology. I’m especially interested in a good reference book…

Mandatory as a general introduction: https://www.amazon.com/Flies-Natural-History-Diversity-Diptera/dp/1770851003 Also mandatory, the Manual of Nearctic Diptera (3 Volumes), available here: https://esc-sec.ca/publications/aafc/ Though note that the taxonomy is badly out of date for many groups. …

I’m with you. I’d like an excellent, affordable guide on tachinids. If I remember correctly there is a newsletter called Tachinid Times which I found on the internet.

If you want something technical but still easy for a non-entomologist, I’d recommend the following as a starting point: https://www.amazon.com/Flower-Northeastern-America-Princeton-Guides/dp/0691189404 The manuals of Nearctic Diptera, as mentioned, are a good reference guide but they can be diffic…

Borror and deLong is not bad to family level. There is a pdf download (the book is expensive) but I have not tried it. https://newbooksinpolitics.com/political/borror-and-delongs-introduction-to-the-study-of-insects/

Any ideas for narrower taxonomies? As in, say I know that my flies are Drosophilidae – can I get from there to genus? Or from Genus Drosophila to species? I know how to use technical keys.

There’s a Drosophila key if you search it (can’t get a link now, but you can easily find it). And other genuses too, just search it in Google or in one of sources of science work, like ResearchGate.

[image] marina_gorbunova: genuses genera

I don’t think it matters so much to post a separate message about it. Genuses is a correct version too, btw.

Good General Reference Works for Diptera?

Nature Talk

marina_gorbunova September 4, 2020, 7:43pm 2

Check this post https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/what-types-of-id-work-to-focus-on/15285/14 and there was another one about book/guides.

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Good General Reference Works for Diptera?

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