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The fly family Muscidae are generally known as House Flies and everyone knows Musca domestica which flies around our kitchens and confounds scientists by landing upside down on the ceiling. But that species is the only one which likes to share our homes. The rest of the 294 British species have amazingly varied life styles. The larvae may develop in dead wood, rot holes, leaf litter, moss. fungi, bird nests, carrion, dung, dunes, saltmarsh, mud flats and more. Imagine a habitat and likely as not, you will find a Muscid there. Others attack animals and are important as vectors of livestock disease. Mike will introduce the family describing each of our 40 genera and providing some hints for their identification. Mike Ashworth is coordinator of the Dipterists Forum Muscidae and Fanniidae Study Group.