Dipodip project page

31/01/2024

Last week John and I gave a talk on "Flies, the DIPoDIP project and the Karkloof Conservancy" for people living in the area. The talk was organized by Jessica Gird of the Karkloof Conservancy. The talk started with an introduction on flies by John, after which I gave some more information on the past, current and future activities of the DIPoDIP project, with an emphasis how we will collaborate more intensively with the Karkloof Conservancy.
KwaZulu-Natal Museum, Karkloof Conservancy, AfricaMuseum EN, AfricaMuseum België, AfricaMuseum Belgique

23/01/2024

This week John Midgley (KZNM) and Kurt Jordaens (RMCA) have spent four days at the Ndumu Game Reserve to collect Diptera. The Diptera will not only be used for ongoing taxonomic research but they will also be used to create insect display boxes. These boxes, together with a booklet on the flies of South Africa that we are currently developing, will be distributed among the stakeholders of the DIPoDIP project. In this way, our stakeholders may help us in highlighting the positive aspects of Diptera. Finally, some of the flies will end up in our Diptera training boxes that we use during our biennial entomological training courses.

20/01/2024

For those who have a free agenda on the 25th of January.... come and join us!

15/01/2024

Last month we had the kick-off meeting of our AGRIMAB project. The AGRIMAB project is a new network project between the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) in Belgium and several partner institutions in South Africa, and is funded by the Belgian Science Policy (BELSPO) and the National Research Fund (NRF) of South Africa. The project team comprises the following people: Pia Addison (Stellenbosch University (SU), South Africa), Marc De Meyer (RMCA), Kurt Jordaens (RMCA), John Midgley (KwaZulu-Natal Museum, South Africa), Colin Schoeman (University of Venda, South Africa), and Vanessa Couldridge (University of the Western Cape).

The focus of the network project is on the interactions between agriculture and Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Reserves in South Africa. Two MAB systems were selected: the Cape Winelands in the Western Cape and Vembe in the Venda region.

The main objective of this network project is to explore the interaction between MABs and adjacent man-made environments regarding ecosystem services in pollination by non-bee pollinating insects.

28/10/2023

And here they are, the 12 participants of this year's training course!
Congratulations to all of you! You are a wonderful group of people and have made the training a true success! We hope to see you in the (near) future.
AfricaMuseum ENAfricaMuseum BelgiëAfricaMuseum BelgiqueDiplomatie.BelgiumKwaZulu-Natal MuseumSokoine University of Agriculture

28/10/2023

Day 11: On day 11 of the training course, we finished the identifications and packed all materials and specimens. In the afternoon we had an evaluation of the course, including a questionnaire, that we will use to improve the training. Last but not least, we had a cocktail function where each of the participants were rewarded a certificate. Up to the next training which will take place in South Africa in 2025!
AfricaMuseum ENKwaZulu-Natal MuseumAfricaMuseum BelgiëAfricaMuseum BelgiqueSOKOINE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE (SUA)Diplomatie.Belgium

28/10/2023

Day 10: On day 10, the participants have to go through the entire procedure of collecting, killing, pinning and labelling of Diptera. Afterwards they also had to identify the flies to the family level. They also had to show that they were able to set up a small Malaise trap independently. This time, lecturers were commenting on and evaluating the techniques of the participants. It was great to see that all manage the techniques now!

28/10/2023

On day 9 we tackled some other families: Nemestrinidae and Calliphoridae (including Rhiniinae).

23/10/2023

23/10/2023

After a free weekend, we are back at the training! Day 8: we used the key in the Syrphidae chapter to key out Afrotropical hoverflies (or flower flies) to the genus level; a challenge, but all are doing great! We have also demonstrated how to dissect the male genitalia from ethanol preserved specimens. Let's see if they can identify the males up to the species level based on the genitalia tomorrow!

22/10/2023

when a participant challenges a lecturer, we all know how it ends

21/10/2023

Day 6, Saturday: today, most of us had a very nice walk in the nearby Uluguru Mountains in a place called 'Morning site'. We had a climb of 600m but enough fresh fruits to keep us going!

20/10/2023

We are halfway through our fifth training course on the Taxonomy and Systematics of pollinating Afrotropical Diptera. On day 5 of the training course we continued using the family key to Afrotropical Diptera. The teams are doing great, amazing to see how well they are doing. They all deserve a long and relaxing weekend (to get prepared for the second week, of course :-))
AfricaMuseum EN AfricaMuseum Belgique AfricaMuseum België KwaZulu-Natal Museum Diplomatie.Belgium

19/10/2023

Lunch time at the training course! It is nice to be outside after a few hours of intensive training.

19/10/2023

Day 4 of the training: today we used the family key in the first volume of the Manual of Afrotropical Diptera to identify a number of Diptera up to the family level. All participants are doing great! What a fantastic group! The course includes 12 participants from Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Burundi, South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania.

19/10/2023

On day 3 we collected Diptera followed by a practical an the pinning and labelling of the flies. We ended the day with a lecture on metadata management and collections holdings systems.

19/10/2023

Day 2 of the training. We went into the field to collect Diptera for direct pinning and micro-pinning using sweep nets We also explained how to deploy large 6m and smaller Malaise traps.

16/10/2023

We have all arrived safely in Morogoro for our fifth training course on thé taxonomy of pollinating Afrotropical Diptera.. Everyone still seems to be happy!

13/10/2023

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adh0756

A very interesting (but somewhat frightening) new study! Citing one of the co-authors of the study, Jeff Ollerton, on his blog "Our main finding is that it’s tropical crops, especially cocoa, mango, watermelon, and coffee, that in the future will suffer the greatest negative impacts from loss of pollinators. Although we can have perfectly healthy diets without consuming any of those, they currently support tens of millions of farmers across the tropics and are part of global supply chains worth billions of dollars per year."

Pollinator losses from agriculture and climate change risk production of key crops in the tropics, especially cocoa.

11/10/2023

Clinical Veterinarian The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) is looking for a highly motivated, efficient, and enthusiastic person to provide clinical […] Continue readingMore Tag Biological Invasions Student Bursaries for 2024 Bursaries are available to conduct research as part...

09/10/2023

We have just published our latest issue of the Pollinator Information Network Newsletter. You may download the issue here:
https://www.pindip.org/newsletter

01/10/2023

Connect with nature ! Team up with iNaturalists to appreciate the tiny wildlife in our gardens, streets and open spaces.

28/09/2023

Last month, Genevieve Theron (postdoc at the KZNM) and Cassandra Barker (PhD student at Stellenbosch University) collected pollinating Diptera at several localities in the Northern Cape including Port Nolloth, Springbok, Kamieskroon, Namaqua National Park and Nieuwoudtville as part of the DIPoDIP project. There are worse places to do fieldwork!

28/09/2023

21/09/2023

Yesterday, John Midgley of the KwaZulu-Natal Museum visited another public primary school in the Karkloof, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
This time John talked about "why flies are so fantastic" in Hawkstone Primary School!
John is a partner in the Diversity of pollinating Diptera in South African Biodiversity Hotspots (DIPoDIP) project, which is financed by the BelgianDevelopment Cooperation through a framework agreement with the RMCA.
KwaZulu-Natal Museum, Karkloof Conservancy, AfricaMuseum ENAfricaMuseum België, AfricaMuseum Belgique, Diplomatie.Belgium

18/09/2023

This paper is the first of a series of papers in a Topical Collection of he Diptera of Lesotho in African Invertebrates. We hope to stimulate more research on Afrotropical Diptera and to improve their conservation in Lesotho in particular.

Despite various historic collections, the Diptera of Lesotho remains understudied. By enhancing the existing collections through targeted field expeditions, a resource for future research has been created. Authors have been invited to publish family accounts of various Diptera known from Lesotho as....

14/09/2023

This year, we are organizing our fifth training on the taxonomy of Afrotropical pollinating Diptera. The training will take place at the Sokoine Pest Management Center of the Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania from 16–27 October 2023. We are happy to announce that the following 12 persons (out of 50 applicants) have been selected to participate at the training. A nice mix of participants from eight different sub-Saharan countries!

Arlène Ingabire, Burundi, Burundi Agricultural Sciences Institute
Antoine Irakiza, Burundi, Burundi Agricultural Sciences Institute
Stephanie Kengni, Cameroon, University of Ngaoundere
Tewodros Mulugeta, Ethiopia, Kotebe Metropolitan University
Kelvin Kemei, Kenya, National Museums of Kenya
Simon Muhayimana, Rwanda, Center of Excellence in Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management
Donath Nkurikiyimana, Rwanda, Diane Fossey Gorilla Fund
Melanie De Morney, South Africa, South African National Parks
Jarmaine Magoai, South Africa, National Museum Bloemfontein
Happy Leonard, Tanzania, Tanzania Agriculture Research Institute
Jenipher Tairo, Tanzania, Sokoine University of Agriculture
Tanatswa Gara, Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Entomology Support Program in Malaria

14/09/2023

Very nice study of Burgert Muller and John Midgley as part of the DIPoDIP project! KwaZulu-Natal MuseumAfricaMuseum ENNational Museum, Bloemfontein

South African scientists find a mystery female specimen with stunted wings identified as a flightless fly

13/09/2023

Today, John Midgley of the KwaZulu-Natal Museum visited the Triandra State Aided School with people from the Karkloof Conservancy to talk about flies and pollination!
KwaZulu-Natal Museum, Karkloof Conservancy, AfricaMuseum België, AfricaMuseum EN

21/07/2023

During the 10th International Congress of Dipterology in Reno, USA (https://dipterists.org/icdx/), John launched a call for papers on the Diptera of Lesotho. Despite various historic collections, the Diptera of Lesotho remains understudied.
Now, the Diptera of Lesotho special collection in the journal African Invertebrates (https://africaninvertebrates.pensoft.net/) is to bring together family accounts of Diptera from across Lesotho to increase awareness about conservation and biodiversity in the country.
https://africaninvertebrates.pensoft.net/topical_collection/217/

Despite various historic collections, the Diptera of Lesotho remains understudied. By enhancing the existing collections through targeted field expeditions, a resource for future research has been created. Authors have been invited to publish family accounts of various Diptera known from Lesotho as....