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I already posted this on the UK site: http://www.dipter...ia%3F.html but I'm reposting here to reach a wider audience.

A few of these tiny flies have been hovering near a Hyacinth growing in damp compost in a pot in the conservatory. I have a few specimens but pinning them is hard for an inexperienced clumsy hand like mine. These photos were taken of some of these insects when they were resting on the plant. I think they are Sciaridae and given the habitat may be Bradysia. My copy of the Freeman book on this family is in the post. In the meantime, I'd appreciate any comments. Is it possible to confirm the family, genus, or even suggest a species, from these photos?

Best wishes,
Martin

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This may not help much, but here is a photo of the wings:

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... and the eyes.

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Your best bet for now would be to download the files mentioned in this post and try keying it out.

Freeman's handbook only covered 101 species but there are 266 in the latest version of the British checklist. This mentions that there is a new handbook in preparation.

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Thanks for this. Those are great photos in that other post, by the way. I've downloaded the thesis but with even less knowledge of German than I have a flies I doubt if I will be able to put it to use. For now, I'd be happy to classify the flies in my house as Sciarids. Is it possible to at least confirm the family?

Regards,
Martin

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Yes, this is Sciaridae.

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Thanks :)