The family Ceratopogonidae (Diptera, Nematocera) in Malta

An account is given of the 21 species in the family Ceratopogonidae that occur in the Maltese Islands, including 13 new records.peer-reviewe

The family Simuliidae (Diptera) in Malta

An account is given of the 3 species in the family Simuliidae that occur in Malta, including 1 new recordpeer-reviewe

First record of Oestrus ovis Linnaeus, 1758 from Malta, and case reports of myiasis from the Maltese Islands (Diptera: Brachycera)

Oestrus ovis is reported for the first time from Malta. An account is given of four cases of myiasis in Malta, one nasopharyngeal in a sheep host involving O. ovis, and three cutaneous in a human host and in domestic cats, the latter all involving Lucilia sericata.peer-reviewe

Milichiella lacteipennis (Loew, 1866) is associated with beeswax (Diptera, Milichiidae)

The Milichiidae (Diptera, Schizophora) is a family of acalypterate Diptera of worldwide distribution. Some 240 species are recognised (Brake, 2000). The most comprehensive account on the biology and breeding habits of the family may be found in Ferrar (1987) from which most of the following information is taken.peer-reviewe

Pseudoainhum : a dermatological oddity

An eight week old baby presented with a deep constriction round the base of the third right toe, of one day’s duration. A strand of filamentous material was found and uncoiled from the depths of the cleft which subsequently healed within a week. Recurrence in the same digit four weeks later raised the question of factitious disease. Pseudoainhum refers to a constricting band around a digit or limb, congenital or acquired. It must be distinguished from true ainhum, where a painful, idiopathic constriction of the fifth toe in dark-skinned adults results in spontaneous amputation of the digit.peer-reviewe

New distributional data on sandflies from rubble walls in the Maltese Islands with an illustrated key to the Maltese species (Diptera: Phlebotominae)

The results of a survey which involved collecting phlebotomine sandflies in rubble walls from 20 different localities on the islands of Malta and Gozo in the period from August to October 2008 are reported. A total of 402 specimens were collected, all belonging to two species: Sergentomyia minuta and Phlebotomus perniciosus. A short diagnosis, and notes on the biology of the six species of sandflies recorded from the islands is given, together with an illustrated key to their identification.peer-reviewe

Some true flies (Insecta, Diptera) reared from a nest of the Spanish sparrow (Passer hispaniolensis) in Malta

There exist no previous records of true flies (Insecta, Diptera) reared from birds' nests in Malta. The following six species have recently been reared by the author from an old nest of the Spanish sparrow (Passer hispaniolensis): Elachiptera bimaculata (Loew), Scaptomyza pallida (Zetterstedt), Scenopinus glabrifrons Meigen, Coproica vagans (Haliday), Coproica sp. nov. and Pullimosina heteroneura (Haliday).peer-reviewe

The use of ICT in the teaching of Maltese and teachers’ concerns

The importance of technology in education has increased enormously in recent years. As a result of the ongoing developments in ICT both teaching and learning are being transformed. This article starts by giving a brief overview of the main advantages of ICT in teaching a language. It then outlines the milestones in the introduction of ICT in Maltese state schools, which include the distribution of laptops to all teachers, the installation of interactive whiteboards and the introduction of a virtual learning environment that connects all primary and secondary state schools into one virtual network. Then, this article identifies the most popular ICT resources and makes reference to the ones that are more easily accessible by the teachers of Maltese. However, the implementation of ICT in schools has not come about without difficulty. The article discusses the local teachers’ concerns related to the introduction and use of ICT in the classroom. Finally, some practical suggestions are put forward with the aim of making the use of ICT in the local educational sector more successful and beneficial in the educational process.peer-reviewe

A further two species of snail-killing flies (Diptera : Sciomyzidae) from the Maltese Islands

The family Sciomyzidae (Diptera) was previously known in the Maltese islands from two specimens of Pherbellia cinerella (Fallen, 1820) recorded in 1995. Two other species - Pherbellia mikiana (Hendel, 1900) and Hydromya dorsalis (Fabricius, 1775) - are added to the Maltese fauna, and notes on their biology and distribution are provided.peer-reviewe

Laryngeal lymphoma : the high and low grades of rare lymphoma involvement sites

The larynx is an extremely rare site of involvement by lymphomatous disease.We present two cases of isolated laryngeal high-grade and another low-grade lymphoma, together with a literature review of laryngeal lymphoma management.peer-reviewe