On Wednesday 12/8, I visited the Florida State Collection of Arthropods (FSCA) in Gainesville. It’s only open on weekdays, which makes it difficult for working stiffs to visit.
I got to meet Gary Steck, a dipterist who has helped organize the specimens and put together a handy Florida Syntopic Collection. I also got to meet Zell Smith, who visits daily to process his specimens, which he boasted are from 46 US states.
My goal was to verify certain specimens and to learn more about some uncommon taxa. I think every specimen in the enigmatic Leptogastrinae were collected in malaise traps. Perhaps that’s the best way to find them! Many specimens were determined by Asilidae heavyweights like Hine and Wilcox. Some of those IDs left me scratching my head, because there may be a few errors. I need to spend more time with the collection.
I took a lot of specimen photos, which will take me a while to process and verify. Expect more on this site soon!
Robber Flies of Florida 