Guide to Flies of Britain & Ireland

A photographic guide to Flies of Britain & Ireland – First Impressions

Steven Falk, Gail Ashton, Rory Dimond & Peter Creed foreword by Erica McAlister

piscespublications (pbk) published 2026.

410 pages, +1500 photographs, illustrations, and distribution maps

ISBN 978-1-913994-16-7

A couple of weeks ago a book arrived through my letterbox that I had ordered last year. I don’t normally pre-order books, I normally await their publication before purchase, tending to buy it a couple of weeks or months later. But I knew I wanted this book and the reduced pre-order price was certainly an offer I couldn’t refuse.

When I unboxed it I thought I have seen this book before, it felt and looked familiar. I only had to look across to my bookshelves to see on the third shelf down Insects of Britain & Ireland by Paul D.Brock (2015). This is a super insect book but like most things I always felt there was more to flies that just the 100 pages that were dedicated to it. Don’t get me wrong it’s a comprehensive book full of great photographs with bees, dragonflies, moths and of course hoverflies but I have other more comprehensive books dedicated to those subject matters, so portions of the book were rarely used.

When I heard that there was going to be a book dedicated to flies, I just couldn’t wait for it to drop through my letter box.

Well, was the wait worth it?

Was the content what I expected or letdown as built-up hype often turns into? – for example, some Hollywood films. I had been following the production of this book more than any other…..

It’s a slightly thinner book than Brock’s Insect book at 410 pages, but it still a solid book. It bends quite easily yet feels light so not something I would have problem in taking out with me. Like Brock’s Insect book the pages are colour coded so you can find the sections with ease - hoverflies being gold/yellow mid book. There are quite a few sections of the same colour however which I don’t quite understand.

If you do understand the colouring system, please comment below.

The inside cover has labelled diagrams of cranefly, hoverfly, tachinid wings and on the other page tachinid body parts. There is then 27 pages dedicated to all kinds of fly related subjects from ‘what is a fly’, to classification, fly biology, attracting flies to the garden, habitats, a glossary and how to use the book. Most people will skip these pages no doubt.  

If you have the book or intend to buy it, will you read any of the Fly introduction content? 

There was no introduction to the Insect book by Brock it went straight into the photographs – so I think these inclusions in this ‘flies’ book are most welcome, especially for any beginner looking to get into the subject. 

The foreword is by Erica McAllister – who I follow on social media but have missed meeting her on two occasions at the British Naturalists’ Association encaenia. An annual event at the Natural History Museum, where she was awarded an Honorary fellowship (2023) and the Peter Scott Memorial (2025). Reading her foreword I hadn’t realised it’s been 75 years since the last book dedicated to flies was published - Flies of the British Isles by Colyer and Hammond. A book that sits proudly on my shelf, I picked it up some years at the York Book fair. At some time in the future hopefully I will get around to reviewing it for my website. I have often used and referred to it in the last few years.

One of my aims each year is to create a ‘fly friendly garden’ the sole purpose being to attract the beneficial flies. To a degree the garden works, there are many species of hoverfly and other critters that will visit and my species list grows year on year. So, I was interested to see what was written here in the context of attracting more flies. Although it’s brief there are several good suggestions, from the obvious flowers and grasses, a need for a pond, decaying wood, bare ground and, if room, a compost heap. All of these have been added in the last few years so I must be doing something right. This makes me want to read the other sections which I will in due course.

So, onto the main part of the book the flies themselves –

I obviously headed straight for the hoverfly section this being my interest and expertise. With Steven Falk’s name on the front cover, I was expecting lots of great photographs and what must be a first for an insect book in the UK, the extensive use common names. The use of common names will delight some of my friends who like me struggle with Latin. Looking through the rest of the book there are common names used across all groups, not every species but most.

It was also a surprise to see that there are now 289 species of hoverflies in the UK up from 285 of Hoverflies of Britain and Ireland by S.Ball and R.Morris only published 2 years ago. I will have to review which new ones have been included and assess the likelihood of me ever getting to see them. Looking at some of the common names used I can see S.Falk has changed some compared to his Flickr site, so a project to go through them all is now required. Will I agree with them and do they better correlate with the recently published Hoverflies of Britain and NW Europe by S.Bot and F.Van De Meutter Britain (click here which also has common names for each species. I will let you know what I uncover. 

So, putting hoverflies aside, I am hoping this book might allow me to explore other fly families. To find and discover other flies on my spotting adventures, with the hope of telling their stories. To assist me with this identification, for each species, there is a brief description, associated habitat, distribution map, season when the adults are active, along with wing/body length and accompanying photograph. All these are pretty standard in any good identification guide. For some species listed, where applicable, there is a ‘host’s section’ giving specific information to help locate a fly through its specific need; this applies to species that are gall causers, parasitiods, and kleptoparasites.

Who Would I recommend this book to:

• Anyone who is interested in flies, more than the more popular insect groups.
• Any entomologist or amateur naturalist looking to expand beyond hoverflies, like me.
• Anyone who prefers a photographic approach to identification than say keys, detailed drawings, or written text.
• This book is not just for the UK but Ireland as well, it should be applicable to wherever you travel within the British Isles.

Final thoughts:

It looks a fabulous book, and it comes with a warning from Erica that not every species for every group is listed. So, I might still get frustrated when I find something unusual. There are over 7000 species of flies in the UK and only 1500 listed here, so there are obviously going to be gaps. I also noticed that the fly descriptions might be a little vague for some, only time will tell whether it’s sufficient with the accompanying photograph. I intend to use this book throughout the year and see what new species I can add to my records; I will let you know how I get on. But my first Impressions say is going to be a super book and I am looking forward to using it. I am excited to get into some of the other fly groups besides hoverflies and maybe even dedicating a blog or two to their stories, so watch this space.

Let me know in the comments below if you have purchased the book and what your first impressions were.

Maybe you have found new species to your records with it already, I would love to hear about them if you have.

https://www.naturebureau.co.uk/bookshop

PS – I did have a look for an online version on Apple Store – nope not listed but then neither is any of the piscespublications. If anyone does notice it appear online in IOS Apple Store please do drop me a line.