There is a general decline in British wildlife, particularly insects. In the past, you had to stop the car every hour or so, to clean the insects off the windscreen, but no longer! This is part of a PhD thesis, investigating the impact of pesticides and changing agriculture on dung fauna.
Why dung flies??
*Firstly, they are particularly vulnerable to some of the cattle wormers, which are excreted into dung and prevent normal dung fauna (flies and beetles) from developing.
*Secondly, since the adults are carnivorous, they may have significant ecological impact on other flies.
*Thirdly, they are an important food source for birds and bats.
*Lastly, they are easy to count.
However, little is known about UK distribution and population numbers.
Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
The bright yellow males can typically be seen on fresh dung pats, waiting for a chance to mate with the duller greenish females.
But where in the UK are they found? Very few sites
are actually recorded (see map).
Are numbers declining?
How far do they fly?
How and where do they over-winter?
> Help provide answers to some of these questions
> Read more about their life history
> Take part in the survey
> Send in your own observations
