British Dolichopodidae (Diptera)

Drake, Martin: - Martin Drake has a long interest in flies. After an early start as an entomologist with the Freshwater Biological Association, following a PhD on the ecology of midges, much of his career has been spent in insect conservation with the government conservation agencies, and then running his own consultancy in the same field. He has published many papers on invertebrates but with an emphasis on flies and their natural history. He was a founding member of the Dipterists Forum which he served in several capacities. Running the dolichopodid recording scheme for many years highlighted the need for an updated identification guide culminating in the present work which has provided an outlet for an amateur taxonomist.