The family Syrphidae , commonly call in hover flies or flower flies , admit some 6,000 living species . As “ one of the most abundant groups of flower - visiting insect ” , with adults of most metal money feeding almost alone on pollen and nectar or honeydew , these flies are among the most important pollinator , both for wild plant and numerous crops .
A flower fly in the family Syrphidae : Platycheirus obscurus ( distaff ) . It was this genus that attracted Dr. Andrew D. Young to the cogitation of Dipterology . He revised this genus for his M.Sc . Photo by Andrew D. Young , taken in Algonquin Park , Ontario Canada .
The multi - volume Diptères exotiques nouveaux ou peu connus ( 1838-[43 ] ) by Justin Macquart contains the first descriptions of numerous Diptera species , including many members of the Syrphidae . Systema Dipterorum , the biosystematic database of world Diptera , attributes 430 Syrphidae names to Macquart .
“ Macquart wrote so many early Syrphidae genus and species verbal description that it ’s almost impossible to publish a syrphid taxonomic theme without referencing this title at some full stop , ” explain Dr. Andrew D. Young .
Dr. Andrew D. Young , UC Davis postdoc at the California Department of Food and Agriculture Plant Pest Diagnostics Center . exposure by : Andrew D. Young .
Young is a University of California , Davis postdoc , working out of the California Department of Food and Agriculture Plant Pest Diagnostics Center , where he specialize in Diptera taxonomy and phylogenetics . Although he studies Tephritidae ( fruit flies ) in his current status , most of Young ’s entomological training has been focused on Syrphidae . While Macquart ’s monographic series is an essential resource for this radical , it ’s not comfortable to do by .
“ Each volume is several hundred Thomas Nelson Page , and was published in the mid 1800s , so hardcopies are not particularly easy to get ahold of , ” explains Young . “ Most of the clock time when you do regain a hardcopy , it ’s one that ’s been photocopied so many times it ’s barely legible . ”
Fortunately , Diptères exotiques nouveaux ou peu connus is freely available on the Biodiversity Heritage Library ( BHL ) .
“ There are surely a raft of rubric on BHL that have touch on my research , but Macquart ’s work is the one I end up referring to the most often , ” shares Young . “ It would be a unmanageable study to obtain on my own if BHL did not exist . ”
Psilota coerulescens , a species of Australian Psilota ( family line : Syrphidae ) . This species was part of Young ’s PhD project , which involve phylogenomic analysis of Syrphidae and related to families , as well as a taxonomic revision of the Australian Psilota . This species was antecedently described by Macquart in 1847 , but there are several morphologically similar undescribed species . well-situated approach to Macquart ’s works via BHL helped Young confirm the identicalness of this species , although pic of the eccentric material from the Paris museum were also necessary . Photo Courtesy of Andrew D. Young .
Young was drawn to the field of study of insects during his subject field at the University of Guelph . While primitively specify to consider herpetology , a third year entomology course with Dr. Steve Marshall convert his mind . In 2009 , he start his M.Sc . in Marshall ’s insect systematics lab at the University , studying Syrphidae .
It was during the first yr of his M.Sc . that a fellow graduate student introduce Young to BHL . It was a game - changer .
“ BHL gave me quicker and easier memory access to papers I would have otherwise had to wait week for and memory access to many other papers I might not have been capable to obtain at all , ” lauds Young .
Andrew D. Young and Jeff Skevington in the field , collecting Syrphidae in Japan . Photo by : Sander Bot .
When actively work on a taxonomical rewrite , Young accesses the Library multiple times a week . Typically , he uses the customs duty PDF feature to select and download specific pages containing case-by-case taxonomic descriptions . The feature significantly improves his research efficiency .
“ I often take a unmarried page from a 400+page book , so this saves me a plenty of time , ” explains Young . “ Without the customs duty download feature , I would be bewilder downloading monumental PDFs and then extracting pages from them myself . ”
By providing open admission to so much essential entomological literature , BHL has had a profound encroachment on Young ’s enquiry , as the examen of both original metal money descriptions and original type material is substantive for taxonomic enquiry .
“ BHL is often my only resort for obtaining older taxonomic works . Because of BHL , I have been able to apace settle original descriptions from early taxonomical authors , allowing me to compare the descriptions to the material I have access to , ” explains Young . “ BHL is invaluable to my taxonomic enquiry . ”
An undescribed mintage of Psilota ( household : Syrphidae ) from Australia , also included as part of Young ’s Ph.D. project . He will be identify this species after his partner Aislinn , for all the support they provided him during his pedantic journey . Photo Courtesy of Andrew D. Young .
Pollinators like flower flies do invaluable service for ecosystem health , nutrient surety , raw resource production , and more . We ’re thrilled to be intimate that BHL , in spell , is an priceless resourcefulness for researchers consider these important species .
generator : Biodiversity Heritage Library ( Grace Costantino )
