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Welcome to another Australian Museum Entomology expedition! This expedition is looking at the family Platystomatidae, or Signal Flies. Signal flies are worldwide in distribution, found in all the biogeographic realms, but predominantly in the tropics. It comprises around 1200 species in 127 genera. They are very variable in external appearance, ranging from small (2.5 mm), slender species to large (20 mm), robust individuals, often with body colours having a distinctive metallic lustre and with face and wings usually patterned with dark spots or bands. Some species have taken body variation to extremes, with some having their eyes on the end of wide stalks.

This expedition is part of the Australian Museum's Collection Enhancement Project (CEP). The CEP will result in new levels of access to the AM’s diverse collections, making digital images and meta data easily accessible to First Nations communities, scientists, researchers, students and individuals from Australia and abroad.