Australian Biological Resources Study

On The Fly
The Interactive Atlas and Key to Australian Fly Families

J.Hamilton, D.Yeates, A.Hastings, D.Colless, D.McAlpine, D.Bickel, G.Daniels, M.Schneider, P.Cranston & S.Marshall
CD ROM
Australian Biological Resources Study/Centre for Biological Information Technology (CBIT), 2006
ISBN-10: 0 642 56845 6
ISBN-13: 978 0 642 56845 8
NEW

True flies, the Diptera, are ubiquitous and often abundant in Australian terrestrial ecosystems. Yet from a fauna estimated at around 30 000 species, only about 20% are described so far, and most of these only occur in Australia. Flies perform important ecological functions such as nutrient recycling, predation and pollination. Many fly larvae are parasitoids of other insects. Some are economically important pests or vectors of disease, while others are beneficial, and play important biological or ecological roles such as regulating pest populations. And, of course, we all know flies as pesky co-inhabitants of this continent.

The Lucid™ Player provides an easy-to-use interface, with comprehensive fact-sheets, diagnostic features for all fly families and numerous photographs of macroscopic and microscopic features.

Features

1. An atlas of fly anatomy, equipped with zoom facility for close viewing of diagnostic features of flies
2. An Introduction providing an overview of biology, classification, collection, preservation, examination and curation, and economic importance of flies
3. A simple interactive key to five higher level categories of flies
4. Five keys enabling family level identification of all Australian flies
5. Family descriptions, along with details on biology and distribution, and hundreds of images of living flies
6. Literature references for each family, and hyperlinked references for introductory sections
7. More than 500 photographs and drawings
8. A comprehensive glossary of technical terms accessible by hyperlinks

This lavishly illustrated set of keys to families and higher levels, and the accompanying atlas of fly morphology and guides to collection, preservation and study of fly anatomy is an extraordinary resource for identification and study — and for sheer interest. It is an invaluable tool not only for amateur and professional entomologists, but also for biology students and their teachers, conservation and land managers, environmental consultants and, indeed, anyone interested in the diversity, beauty and curiosities of the natural world.

Available from CBIT at http://www.cbit.uq.edu.au/software/onthefly/.