[Syrphidae] Syrphid Collector of the Year!

[christian thompson]

Wouter & Jens-Hermann:

What a wonderful idea: The flower fly of the year!

Let me suggest another idea for European and other workers in exotic
localities. The syrphid collector of the year!

We would like to improve the holding of the Smithsonian entomological
collection. Getting flesh, modern material of even common species like
Tropidia scita would be of great help to us.

Much of our European material is very old: for example, for Tropidia scita,
we have a Verrall specimen from England, a Stelfox one from Ireland, a few
with now unknown locality labels. The only modern material is some from Torp
Pedersen in Denmark and Claussen in northern Germany. 

So, even a couple of specimens for people in the Netherlands, France,
Norway, Spain, etc., would be of great value to FUTURE generation of syrphid
workers.

So, this year when you are collecting flies, why not take a couple extra
for us here in Washington. We would greatly appreciate it. And to making it
interesting, I will give a special prize and recognition (either name your
own new species or have one named after you) to the person or persons who
contributes the most (species, not specimens) to us.

** Due to the problem of Anthrax attack in the mail to US Government
offices last fall, please send material to my USDA address in Beltsville,
Maryland.  Your contributions will be promptly acknowledged, etc.

Taxonomic Services Unit
Systematic Entomology Laboratory
Bldg 005, Room 137, BARC-West
10300 Baltimore Ave
Beltsville, MD 20705-2350 USA

Thanks,



F. Christian Thompson
Systematic Entomology Lab., ARS, USDA
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, D. C. 20560-0169
(202) 382-1800 voice
(202) 786-9422 FAX
cthompso@sel.barc.usda.gov [NB: no terminal "n"]
visit our Diptera site at www.diptera.org


>>> Wouter van Steenis <W.vanSteenis@Natuurmonumenten.nl> 05/27 12:06 PM
>>>
Hoverfly of the year 

At this moment Tropidia scita is one of the most abundant and obvious
hoverflies in many places in Europe. So it is very surprising that despite
of a few records of the puparia (Decleer & Rotheray 1990, Lundbeck 1916)
nothing is known about the larval biology of this distinct species. 
Tropidia scita will have an aquatic larvae and perhaps it is associated
with
Phragmites. The larvae of the American Tropidia quadrifasciata is found in
decaying potatoes that are lying in water. 
During the meeting of the Niedersachsen hoverfly-workers we decided to
make
Tropidia scita 'fly of the year 2002' and give a price to the person who
is
the first to find the living larvae in their natural substrate. If you are
so lucky to discover the larvae, please contact Jens-Hermann Stuke
(jstuke@zfn.uni-bremen.de) or Wouter van Steenis
(w.vansteenis@andros.demon.nl).

Good luck! 

Jens-Hermann Stuke, Wouter van Steenis


_______________________________________________
Syrphidae mailing list
Syrphidae@nottingham.ac.uk 
http://lists.nottingham.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/syrphidae