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Hello all,

I will be collecting flies in Zambia as part of my PhD research. I will need to group them to the family level. My main focus is on the families Muscidae, Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae, and Fanniidae.

I have no expertise in fly identification and would really appreciate recommendations for beginner-friendly resources (literature, books, online tools…) that could help me get started. I recently came across the "Manual of Afrotropical Diptera", though it seems quite technical and extensive for a beginner.

Thanks in advance for any help!

All the best,
Sophie

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The key in volume 1 of the Manual of Afrotropical Diptera will enable you to identify your samples to family. While the keys are technical, there's no easy way round that if you require accuracy (which I assume you do for your studies). As with any study, once you get to know the terminology, things are much easier. If you have the opportunity to visit a museum with good Afrotropical collections, that can be a way to familiarize yourself with many of the species.

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Stephen Marshall's book Flies: The Natural History and Diversity of Diptera has an illustrated worldwide key to families.

Once you know you have a calyptrate fly in Oestroidea or Muscoidea, look at the course of the distal part of vein M. If it runs straight to wing margin you almost certainly have superfamily Muscoidea. The flies with a sharp right-angled bend in the distal part of vein M are Sarcophagidae or Tachinidae. In between you could have Muscidae or Oestroidea, but not Fanniidae.