Dipterists Society

Fly School IV
27 July through 9 August 2026
Soltis Center for Research and Education, San Juan de Peñas Blancas, San Ramón, Costa Rica

Fly School is a comprehensive course for anyone interested in dipterology. The course covers:

• Lectures on family-level identification covering topics such as natural history, morphology, ecology, relationships, and economic importance
• Field collecting, with instruction on various methods
• Methods of specimen preparation, preservation, and study

Cost: US$1,500

• US$250 tuition
• US$1,250 station fees (room & board)
• Note, participants will be responsible for their own transportation to and from San José, Costa Rica, and any lodging before or after the course.

The course is taught in English and is limited to 30 participants.

Instructors and Staff

Arianna Thomas-Cabianca	Senckenberg Natural History Collections, Dresden
Brian Brown	Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Dalton de Souza Amorim	University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto
Erica McAlister	Natural History Museum, London
Giar-Ann Kung	Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Jim Hogue	California State University, Northridge
Matt Bertone	North Carolina State University
Paula Riccardi	Bavarian State Collections of Natural History, Zoologische Staatssammlung München

Application

https://forms.gle/ggaCi1my5zqjKwQ38
Applications must be received by 28 February 2026, 23:59 PST (GMT-8:00) to be considered. Applicants will be notified of selection by 15 March 2026.

Contacts and Links

• Email: dipteracourse@gmail.com
• Bluesky: dipteracourse.bsky.social
• Webpage: https://dipterists.org/fly_school.html
• Fly School mailing list: https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/flyschool-L
• Dipterists mailing list: https://lists.dipterists.org/mailman/listinfo/dipterists

If you would like to support Fly School, consider donating to the Dipterists Society! You may earmark a donation, or any part of a donation, to Fly School in the “Other Information” field.

Although you do not need to be a member to attend any Society events, meetings, or educational opportunities, we encourage you to join as a member. Our society relies completely on memberships and donations, so every member and every supporter is important!

Past

Third: 2024, Soltis Center for Research and Education, San Juan de Peñas Blancas, San Ramón, Costa Rica
Organized by Giar-Ann Kung
Archived website 1, Archived website 2

Second: 2019, Camp KEEP, Montaña de Oro State Park, California, USA
Organized by Giar-Ann Kung
Archived website

First: 2017, Wrightwood, California, USA, San Juan de Peñas Blancas, San Ramón, Costa Rica
Organized by Emily Hartop
Archived website