4.Take a digital photo, with the pat filling the screen, or do a visual count.
Important: only count flies actually in contact with the dung, not those on the surrounding grass.
1. Wait for deposition.
It must be a discrete pat, not spaced out splashes.
2. Time a minimum
of 10 minutes.
Any count between 10-15 minutes is acceptable.
Perhaps you are a rambler or regular dog walker? If your footpath goes through a field of cattle, you could easily contribute valuable information with minimal effort. Dung flies are best found on the surface of recently deposited dung. However, for the first 10 minutes, the dung is too hot and they will gather on the grass around. After 10 minutes, they colonise the dung and this is the count the survey needs: the number of dung flies on a "HOT PAT", 10-15 minutes after deposition.
Important - even if there are NO flies, please submit result, as this is very useful information!
Take part in the count!
Caution
Cattle are large and can occasionally be dangerous.
Never stay in a field with cows who have very young calves, or with a bull.
How to do it
3. Stand about 1-2 m away, so you don't disturb the flies.
5. Note date, location, weather and temperature.
