| Series | Field Studies Council AIDGAP Guides |
| Author | Colin W. Plant |
| Language | English |
| ISBN | 9781851532018 |
| Publisher | Field Studies Council Publications |
| Pages | 90 |
| Format | Paperback |
| Images | Line drawings |
| Year published | 1997 |
FSC Lacewings AIDGAP is an identification guide to adults of 73 species in Britain and Ireland. The keys cover true lacewings and their allies, including scorpion flies, snakeflies and alder flies
Our knowledge of the distribution of British lacewings and their allies has expanded significantly in recent years, but there is still more to discover. Some species occur in domestic gardens, and many others in woodland, grassland and near the coast.
This lacewings guide is part of the FSC’s AIDGAP series (Aids to Identification in Difficult Groups of Animals and Plants). The aim of AIDGAP series is to produce accessible keys suitable for non-specialists from age 16+. Although written by specialists, all AIDGAP guides go through field tests in draft form. As with all guides in the series, the Lacewings AIDGAP underwent extensive testing before publication, by beginners and specialists alike. The author has revised this, the first published version, in the light of the testers’ experience.
Accurate identification of specimens is an important part of biological fieldwork. Although popular groups such as wild flowers and butterflies are well-served, many other groups are neglected. Since 1976, the AIDGAP project has published over 40 straightforward and clearly written identification keys to many different groups of plants, animals and other taxa. In many cases a newly published AIDGAP guide has led to an immediate upsurge in the number and spread of biological records.
