106
Suffolk Natural History, Vol. 56
It is not often that a species new to science is described from Suffolk. So it is interesting to report that a new species of Agromyzidae, - a family commonly referred to as the leaf-miner flies, was described from adults raised from the puparia collected from hemp-agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum) at the Suffolk Wildlife Trust reserve of Lackford Lakes. Graham Moates, a Suffolk Wildlife Trust volunteer worker, discovered the puparia in the stems of hemp-agrimony and sent them to Barry Warrington - organiser of the Dipterists Forum National Agromyzidae Recording Scheme, to identify. As the plant belongs to the Asteraceae there were only a small number of possible species that it could be and after examining the puparia Barry Warrington concluded it was unlikely that any of these species were involved. Graham Moates was then able to collect more puparia from hemp-agrimony stems from sites across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, including the Little Ouse Headwaters Project sites of Thelnetham New Fen and Bleyswyck’s Bank. The puparia were reared to adults and following detailed examination of these specimens by Barry Warrington, and with consultation with other European experts, it was concluded the description of these specimens did not agree with that of any described Agromyzidae, and the specimen must be un-described and new to science (Warrington, 2019). The holotype and four paratypes have been deposited at the National History Museum in London. In recognition of the great lengths Graham Moates went to obtain material from sites across eastern England Barry Warrington had great pleasure in naming this new fly Melanagromyza moatesi Warrington, 2019. To have a species named after you is a rare thing and an honour. In the British diptera I believe that only two other Suffolk naturalists have that distinction. These are the distinguished dipterists; George Henry Verrall and his nephew James Edward Collin, who both lived at Newmarket. On the current British diptera checklist there are 14 species with the specific name verralli and 15 with the specific name collini. Considering that between them Verrall and Collin described some 900 species of diptera they well deserved that recognition. Claude Morley, founder of the Suffolk Naturalists’ Society, and eminent entomologist himself does not have any flies named after him, but there is an Ichneumon Saotis morleyi Fitton, 1976, whose name recognises his contribution to work on that order.
Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 56 (2020)
Barry Warrington
DIPTERA REPORT 2020 PETER VINCENT