So much so that I ended up joining the Dipterist's Forum to find out more about this ubiquitous group of insects. It seems like others have been similarly gripped resulting in a friendly bit of rivalry between 3 amazing naturalists.
Anyway, I joined for the amazing price of £8 and duly received my first copy of the Bulletin of the Dipterists Forum. I've only got round to perusing it today but it's a brilliant, glossy A4 publication absolutely choc-full of stuff.
If I'm honest with myself, I'm not sure I have enough time in my life currently for flies as well as beetles, but I may explore hoverflies a bit more and I may take a squizz at a few other things I see. But I can't see myself getting into diptera in a big way.
But it did get me thinking, there seems to be so much going on in the world of dipterists, why isn't the UK beetle fraternity as energised? Yes, there's the Coleopterist Journal and a relative quiet Yahoo group. The Facebook page is quite busy but there's so much more that could be done for beetle recording. More local groups. More field meetings. More fun!
Or maybe beetles just attract a different kind of naturalist?
Flattery will get you everywhere, young man.
ReplyDeleteGood point about the beetlers though, why aren't they as active? Are flies more popular than beetles, or are dipterists just more highly energised and sociable than coleopterists?