£be ©tptera of tbe Bristol Dtetrict. 
By H. J. Charbonnier 
(Hon. Member of the Bristol Naturalists' Society). 
THE following - notes are intended as a help towards a list of the 
Diptera of the district, but owing - to the immense number 
of species and the paucity of observers it is impossible to give 
anything like a complete list at present, indeed some families are 
hardly represented in these notes. Records are given of 690 species. 
The notes almost all refer to a district lying between Wotton- 
under-Edge on the North and Shepton Mallet on the South. 
I have to acknowledge the great help I have derived from notes 
given me by V. R. Perkins, Esq., relating to the Wotton-under- 
Edge district, and also from my late friend, C. J. Watkins, of 
Painswick. I have also noted a few species reported by Colonel 
L. Blathwayt in the Victoria History of Somerset, and by G. H. 
Verrall in his two beautiful volumes of " British Flies." 
Owing to there being so few observers it is impossible to say 
anything about ' distribution.' Most flies do not seem to wander 
far from the spot where they are hatched, but given suitable con- 
ditions, larval food, &c, they may be expected to turn up anywhere 
within the district, if looked for at the right time. 
The life histories of many species are not known, and Diptera 
are mostly very difficult to rear. 
The collections of flies which formed the basis for these notes 
are now in the Museums at Bristol and Taunton. Short notes 
relating to life histories, or aids to identification, are added in 
many cases. 
The best handbook I know is the Rev. W. J. Wingates' 
List of Durham Diptera (1906) (Williams & Norgate). This gives 
tables of the species as well as plates and useful hints on structure, 
collecting, &c. 
It is quite impossible for one collector to work all the groups, 
for any serious work one is obliged to specialize, as the Rev. E. A. 
Eaton has done for the Psychodidse and Dr. John H. Wood for the 
Phoridas. 
Throughout these notes S.M. means that I have found the species 
at Shepton Mallet, V.R.P. means that the species is reported by 
Mr. V. R. Perkins from the Wotton-under-Edge neighbourhood, 
and C.J.W. means reported from Painswick by Mr. C. J. Watkins. 
SECTION I.— NEMATOCERA. 
Pulicidje — The fleas. I can only record 5 out of some 30 species. 
Pulex irritans (L.) Far too common everywhere. 
,, cants (Curt) On do^s 1 , 
-r t ro w\ r\ *. J-common everywhere. 
,, jelis (Bouche) On catsj J 
,, goniocephalus (Tasch) V.R.P. Common on rabbits. 
Ctenopsyllus musculi (Duge^s) S.M. On house mice. 
