Formosia moneta, parasitic fly (Tachinidae)
The Museum's 2.5 million Diptera specimens are divided into British and international collections, which are stored separately.
2,500,000
Specimens
Strengths
The international collection holds important Diptera type material, most notably of taxa described by Walker, Bigot, Brunetti, Edwards and Austen. Some of this type material dates back to the eighteenth century.
Material type
Specimens are preserved in a variety of ways:
- dry specimen mounted on pins - the majority of adult Diptera
- microscope slides - small specimens or dissected body parts of larger ones
- preserved in fluid - Diptera larvae or trap samples of adults
- boxed items
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The tsetse fly, Glossina morsitans, transmits trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness)
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Bombylius major, a bee-fly, showing its elongated proboscis for flower feeding
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The Rothschild fly (Achias rothchildi) is a member of the Acalyptrata, a large group of families including fruit flies and leaf-mining flies
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Brachycera Orthorrhapha specimens
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Hoverflies such as Syrphus ribesii are important pollinators of flowering plants
Looking for a specific specimen?
The Diptera collection is being digitised
Diptera collections team
Senior curator in charge
Dr Daniel Whitmore
Diptera: Acalyptratae
Senior curator
Dr Erica McAlister
Dipera: Culicidae Mycetophilidae, Lower Brachycera, Siphonaptera.
Curator
Dr Duncan Sivell
Diptera: other Nematocera, Empidoidea.
Curator
Nigel Wyatt
Diptera: Aschiza, Calyptratae.
Curator
Zoe J Adams
Diptera: Phlebotominae, Simuliidae.
Any questions?
If you would like to use any specimens for research
Country of origin
Parts of the world that are particularly well represented are:
- Europe, west of Russia
- sub-Saharan Africa
- the Seychelles
- the Indian subcontinent
- Malesia
- southern Argentina
- Chile
Important collections
International collections
- Walker
- Bigot
- Brunetti
- Edwards
- Austen
British collections
- F W Edwards
- L Parmenter
- C N Colyer
- O W Richards
- E A Fonseca
Accessing the collections
Scientists and collections management specialists can visit the collections and borrow specimens for research.
Collections management
Our duty is to provide a safe and secure environment for all of our collections.