It is willow catkin fly season again!
And also in 2017 the collection campaign is continued.
It is very easy, you don’t need to be a specialist!
In spring blossoming willows attract a lot of insects, such as bees, butterflies and hoverflies. But when you take a closer look, you will see also small black flies that measure only a few mm. The scientific genus name of these flies is Egle and in English they are called willow catkin flies. The English name is very striking, because the imagines feed on nectar and pollen of willow catkins and the larvae develop inside the seeds. With some experience it is possible to recognize the imagines in the field because they have a clearly protruding mouth edge and a slender proboscis and slender palpi. But identification to species level requires dissection of the genitalia. However, collection is very simple because in fact the vast majority of small black flies on willow belong to the genus Egle. There is one exception, namely Egle concomitans which has no protruding mouth edge and has not willow but poplar as host plant.
Until recently only three species of willow catkin flies were known from Belgium. In recent years five species were added. Through this large-scale collection campaign I would like to get a better picture of the distribution of the different species in Belgium and their habits. Moreover, additional new species can be found.
In attachment you can find a picture of a willow catkin fly and the instruction manual and form, both in English and in Dutch.
This is not mandatory, but If you would like to contribute it would be great if you could let me know the region were you will collect, so that I can focus on other regions.
Thanks to all enthusiastic contributors.
Hi Chantal,
to tell you the truth, i do not know about this topic, but i will ask my friends who know, if they could give some help.
All the best
Irma de Jesús
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