About the event

Join expert Yorkshire Naturalist Derek Whiteley for this workshop in how to identify specimens of soldierflies using microscopes. This is mostly a hands-on session, so you’ll be doing some of the identification at your own pace, with guidance and help from Derek. 

Although the best time of year for surveying and collecting soldierflies is in late spring and early summer, we will look at Derek’s collection of soldierflies to learn the distinguishing features of this group of flies and how to identify them to species level. Many of these flies are very attractive, and you may have seen some and mistaken them for hoverflies. There will be discussion about how to find soldierflies and their habitats, but this is purely an indoor event. 

No experience or equipment is needed, by the end of the workshop you’ll be much more confident in identifying soldierflies and hopefully motivated to go and look for some in 2026.

This is a joint workshop with Yorkshire Naturalists Union and Sorby Natural History Society.