Andrew E. WhittingtonFlyEvidence
Andrew E. Whittington
PhD (Aberdeen)
FlyEvidence - a UK-based insect identification service dedicated to delivering professional and accurate identification.
About
105
Publications
51,645
Reads
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1,082
Citations
Introduction
Consultant Entomologist
Betws-y-Coed, Wales
Diptera taxonomy: World Platystomatidae (Signal flies); Afrotropical Syrphidae (Hoverflies); World Lonchopteridae (Pointed-winged flies).
Identification services for a wide range of taxa, including (but not exhaustive) British Araneae, Carabidae, Auchenorrhyncha many families of British Diptera, World taxa at family level; Afrotropical Diptera at generic level (sometimes species); and more ...
Additional affiliations
July 2019 - present
FlyEvidence
Position
- Consultant
Description
- https://flyevidence.co.uk/
September 2018 - July 2019
Position
- Lecturer
Description
- Taxonomy: Platystomatidae; Lonchopteridae; Afrotropical Syrphidae Forensic Entomology: PMI, decomposition, burial
September 2018 - July 2019
Position
- Lecturer
Description
- Programme Leader: Forensic Investigation Module Leader: Forensic Science, Crime Scene Photography, Forensic Biology. Plymouth Marjon University
Education
January 2001
Publications
Publications (105)
Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Aberdeen, 2000.
Farmland is a major land cover type in Europe and Africa and provides habitat for numerous species. The severe decline in farmland biodiversity of the last decades has been attributed to changes in farming practices, and organic and low-input farming are assumed to mitigate detrimental effects of agricultural intensification on biodiversity. Since...
Land degradation results in declining biodiversity and the disruption of ecosystem functioning worldwide, particularly in the tropics. Vegetation restoration is a common tool used to mitigate these impacts and increasingly aims to restore ecosystem functions rather than species diversity. However, evidence from community experiments on the effect o...
Diagnosis Small-sized (body length: 2.0-5.0 mm), yellowish to brown flies, with strongly developed setae and distinctively pointed wing apices (Fig. 1). Head (Figs 2-4) rounded; frons broad, with robust interfron-tal, ocellar and upper fronto-orbital setae; 2 pairs of convergent inner vertical setae present, continuous with distinctive row of stron...
Scottish entomologist Kenneth John Morton FRES (1858-1940) was a prolific Scottish insect collector and writer, although not a trained Entomologist. In 214 entomological papers and notes, he described 3 genera, 82 species and 4 subspecies with an 83% validity and details of his type specimens are listed here providing evidence of just how remarkabl...
When non‐native species invade ecosystems, coevolved plant–animal interactions and associated ecological functions are altered, often to the detriment of local biodiversity. While mutualistic interactions can benefit from—and assist with—ecological restoration through the removal of non‐native species, community‐level changes in antagonistic intera...
A new species of Lygistorrhina (Lygistorrhina) Skuse, 1890, Lygistorrhina woodi sp. nov., is described. The specimen was dissected from an alcohol-preserved flower of Ceropegia aristolochioides ssp. deflersiana Bruyns (Apocynaceae, Asclepiadoideae, Ceropegieae) stored in the Kew herbarium. This is the first occurrence of the lygistorrhine gnats in...
This sixth report of activities of the Linz Zoocode Committee is devoted to the result of the enquiry launched by this Committee in 2021 about the status of new nomina and nomenclatural acts published so far on CD-ROMs. After a discussion of some problems of interpretation raised by Articles 8.4.2, 8.1.2 and 9.12 of the Code, we provide information...
The Worldwide family Lonchopteridae comprises a single extant genus, Lonchoptera Meigen, 1803 currently containing 69 species (including the new species), of which 33 are Palaearctic species. A description of a new Palaearctic species (Lonchoptera pseudolutea sp. nov.) from Georgia is provided. Diagnostic character states distinguishing the new spe...
This fourth report of activities of the Linz Zoocode Committee is devoted to a detailed survey of the problems raised by the current Rules of the Code regarding the nomenclatural availability of works published on paper, concerning their dates, material and administrative parameters of publication, and various other matters. It proposes a few chang...
This fifth report of activities of the Linz Zoocode Committee is devoted to a detailed survey of the problems raised by the current Rules of the Code, published in 2012, regarding the nomenclatural availability of works published online and registered on the database Zoobank. It points to various deficiencies in these Rules and in the conception an...
This fourth report of activities of the Linz Zoocode Committee is devoted to a detailed survey of the problems raised by the current Rules of the Code regarding the nomenclatural availability of works published on paper, concerning their dates, material and administrative parameters of publication, and various other matters. It proposes a few chang...
This third report of activities of the Linz Zoocode Committee provides comments and proposals regarding the concepts, terminology and Rules used to establish the nomenclatural availability of publications, whatever their support and mode of distribution (on paper, on discs or electronic).
This second report of activities of the Linz Zoocode Committee is devoted to a careful analysis of the concept of nomenclatural availability in zoological nomenclature, a concept often misunderstood and misused in recent taxonomic publications. It provides a definition of this expression and establishes a new nomenclatural principle, the Principle...
According to the Code currently in force, taxonomic works presenting nomenclatural novelties published on optical discs may be nomenclaturally available only if published between 1985 and
2013, and respecting some conditions allowing their nomenclatural promulgation. These works will remain accessible to readers only as long as the technologies all...
According to the Code currently in force, taxonomic works presenting nomenclatural novelties published on optical discs may be nomenclaturally available only if published between 1985 and 2013, and respecting some conditions allowing their nomenclatural promulgation. These works will remain accessible to readers only as long as the technologies all...
According to the Code currently in force, taxonomic works presenting nomenclatural novelties published on optical discs may be nomenclaturally available only if published between 1985 and 2013, and respecting some conditions allowing their nomenclatural promulgation. These works will remain accessible to readers only as long as the technologies all...
We present a summary and analysis of the Diptera-related information published in Zootaxa from 2001 to 2020, with a focus on taxonomic papers. Altogether, 2,527 papers on Diptera were published, including 2,032 taxonomic papers and 1,931 papers containing new nomenclatural acts, equivalent to 22% of all publications with new nomenclatural acts for...
A summary is presented of papers published on minor insect orders (MIO) in Zootaxa’s first 20 years, as well as the number of new species described therein. The MIO orders currently covered by the editors and summarized here include Archaeognatha (Microcoryphia), Dermaptera, Embioptera, Siphonaptera, Zoraptera and Zygentoma, as well as the hexapod...
The role of infectious disease as a cause of death is undeniable. The affect infectious disease may have on decomposition after death is less well established. Furthermore, virtually no information is available regarding the effects of burial conditions in such circumstances, despite that numerous clandestine burials occur each year. Although many...
Fig. 2. Frequency distribution of number of fly families acting as pollinators per Ceropegia taxon.
We review the material of the Family Bibionidae from Scotland in the Natural History Museum, London and the National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh, as well as some material from other Collections and published records from the SIRI (Scottish Insects Records Index). Eleven species of the genus Bibio Geoffroy, 1762 and four species in the genus Dilo...
To discover the pollinator community of canola (Brassica napus L.) and the best pollinators for canola production, an experiment was performed at the research farm of Bahauddin Zakariya
University, Multan, Pakistan. The insect pollinator community was composed of 35 species in 3 orders and 14 families. Most
of the bees (Hymenoptera) and a butterfly...
Ant-lions (Neuroptera, Myrmeleontidae) were surveyed in the desert areas of the Abu Dhabi Emirate, an area which supplies ample suitable species-rich habitats for the ant-lion fauna. The aim of study was to examine the geographic and seasonal range of adult ant-lions using light traps at a variety of desert sites in Abu Dhabi over a five-year perio...
Ceropegia (Apocynaceae subfamily Asclepiadoideae) is a large, Old World genus of >180 species, all of which possess distinctive flask-shaped flowers that temporarily trap pollinators. The taxonomic diversity of pollinators, biogeographic and phylogenetic patterns of pollinator exploitation, and the level of specificity of interactions were assessed...
The desert areas of the Abu Dhabi Emirate supply suitable habitats for a species-rich ant-lion fauna. A faunistic survey was conducted for adult myrmeleontids, using light traps in 11 desert sites of Abu Dhabi during a five-year period between 1993 and 2004. A total of 27 species were found, of which 24 are recorded in Abu Dhabi for the first time....
Quantitative surveys of chrysopids from northwestern Europe were analysed. A total of thirty-five species are known within the zone although only twenty-six were recorded. Only the common green lacewings (i.e. the sibling species of the Chrysoperla carnea complex, here not differentiated) were elsewhere abundant comprising more than 3/4 of the spec...
Agadasys xizangensis sp. nov. from China (type locality: Motuo, Xizang Province) is described. The subfamily Plastotephritinae and the genus Agadasys are recorded from China for the first time. The previously monotypic concept of Agadasys is revised, A. hexablepharis Whittington is briefly redescribed and a key to two species of the genus is provid...
Agadasys xizangensis sp. nov. from China (type locality: Motuo, Xizang Province) is described. The subfamily Plastotephritinae and the genus Agadasys are recorded from China for the first time. The previously monotypic concept of Agadasys is revised, A. hexablepharis Whittington is briefly redescribed and a key to two species of the genus is provid...
A list of primary types for the superorder Neuropterida, held in the National Museums of Scotland Entomology Collection, is presented. The list provides the original name, the current valid combination to which the species is presently assigned, as well as the quoted label data and statements concerning the condition of the specimens. Holotypes of...
The types of twenty-three Chrysomelidae species in the Royal Museum of Scotland Collection are documented. Syntypes of Cassida flavicornis Olivier, Cassida guttata Olivier, Cassida humeralis Olivier, Cassida multipunctata Olivier, Cassida variolosa Olivier, Chrysomela atra Olivier, Chrysomela erythrocephala Olivier, Chrysomela ignita Olivier, Chrys...
The Neuroptera collections of the National Museums of Scotland are hitherto an unexplored resource. Some records based on specimens exist, scattered through the British literature in small reports and citations, amalgamated into mapping exercises or are part of short papers describing new species. It is the purpose of this paper to outline the cont...
Lacewings are predatory insects which attack and kill large numbers of insect pests. Lacewings in the Crop Environment addresses both the theoretical and practical aspects of lacewing biology and their use in crop protection. The book opens with a section on lacewing systematics and ecology. Next, lacewings as predators in a wide variety of commerc...
Lacewings are predatory insects which attack and kill large numbers of insect pests. Lacewings in the Crop Environment addresses both the theoretical and practical aspects of lacewing biology and their use in crop protection. The book opens with a section on lacewing systematics and ecology. Next, lacewings as predators in a wide variety of commerc...
Lacewings are predatory insects which attack and kill large numbers of insect pests. Lacewings in the Crop Environment addresses both the theoretical and practical aspects of lacewing biology and their use in crop protection. The book opens with a section on lacewing systematics and ecology. Next, lacewings as predators in a wide variety of commerc...
Lacewings are predatory insects which attack and kill large numbers of insect pests. Lacewings in the Crop Environment addresses both the theoretical and practical aspects of lacewing biology and their use in crop protection. The book opens with a section on lacewing systematics and ecology. Next, lacewings as predators in a wide variety of commerc...
Lacewings are predatory insects which attack and kill large numbers of insect pests. Lacewings in the Crop Environment addresses both the theoretical and practical aspects of lacewing biology and their use in crop protection. The book opens with a section on lacewing systematics and ecology. Next, lacewings as predators in a wide variety of commerc...
Lacewings are predatory insects which attack and kill large numbers of insect pests. Lacewings in the Crop Environment addresses both the theoretical and practical aspects of lacewing biology and their use in crop protection. The book opens with a section on lacewing systematics and ecology. Next, lacewings as predators in a wide variety of commerc...
In December, 1998, a 19-year-old student, home fromuniversity for the Christmas holiday, developed a crop ofobvious, intensely itchy insect bites. A search of his bedfound some red-brown crawling insects about the size of alentil, which the family had seen previously on the firstfloor of the house. The insects were submitted to one ofus for identif...
The Oriental genera and species of Plastotephritinae (Diptera: Platystomatidae) are revised. A key to genera in the Oriental Region is provided and diagnoses are given for the only two genera known to occur there, namely Agadasys gen. n. and Rhegmatosaga Frey, 1930. One new species, Agadasys hexablepharis sp. n. is described. Only seventeen specime...
The family Lonchopteridae (spear-winged flies) comprises a single extant genus, Lonchoptera Meigen, 1803, currently with 72 extant and three extinct species. Although eight species have previously been assigned to either Homolonchoptera Yang, 1998 (one species) and Spilolonchoptera Yang, 1998 (seven species) there seems little to substantiate the e...
The genus Ornidia Lepeletier and Serville, 1828 (Diptera; Syrphidae; Volucellini) is briefly discussed. Adults of Ornidia obesa (Fabricius, 1775), the only member of this genus to exist in the Afrotropical Region are diagnosed and the larva described. Distribution of this species in the Afrotropical Region is discussed and its importance to health...
Taxonomic revisions can be put to good use in the analysis of conservation priorities and biodiversity studies. Analysis of distribution with regards to vegetation, precipitation and effective temperature followed by species richness and endemism in the Afrotropical members of Graptomyza Wiedemann, 1820, indicate that few areas are protected for th...
Descriptions of puparia and third instar cephalopharyngeal skeletons of Graptomyza mitis Curran & Bryan 1926, G. signata (Walker 1860), and G. triangulifera (Bigot 1883) are given. The rearing data and the feeding habits of these species are discussed. Feeding habits and mouthpart morphology reveal that members of the genus are saprophagous and tha...
Questions
Question (1)
Recently Zootaxa, among other journals, has been suppressed from the Journal Citation Report (JCR) for 2019 (2020 release) by Clarivate Analytics based on algorithms, without taking into account the specific nature of taxonomical works, and the importance of systematic/taxonomic journals such as Zootaxa for the entire field of biodiversity research on our planet.
If you use taxonomy in any way, as an ecologist perhaps, during conservation work, making inventories for faunistic studies ... whatever it is, then please support the taxonomic community and sign the petition to Clarivate asking that the decision be reversed: https://www.gopetition.com/petitions/zootaxa-suppressed-from-2019-jcr-data-2020-release.html
