File:
<chloropi.htm> [For educational
purposes only] Glossary <Principal Natural Enemy Groups> <Citations> <Home> |
DIPTERA, Chloropidae
(Oscinidae). -- <Images> & <Juveniles> Please refer also to the following links
for further details: Link 1 Description Chloropids are usually phytophagous in habit, with
several species being important crop pests.
However, some species such as Siphonella
palposa Fall, are predaceous, developing
in the egg capsules of Stauroderus
in Russia. Siphonella oscinina
Fall. develops in egg sacs of spiders.
Pseudogaurax signata L. (= Gaurax araneae Coq.) is
a predator in the egg sacs of the black widow spider, Latrodectes mactans F.
(Jenks 1936). The latter lays spindle
shaped eggs on the outer surface of the spider's egg sac; and after hatching
in 2-3 days, the young larvae burrow through the covering to feed on the
eggs. After consuming the eggs over a
period of ca. 2 days, they pupate in the same area. This is a family of
flies commonly known as frit flies or grass flies. There are approximately
2000 described species in over 160 genera distributed worldwide. These are
usually very small flies, yellow or black and appearing shiny due to the
virtual absence of any hairs. The majority of the larvae are phytophagous,
mainly on grasses, and can be major pests of cereals. However, parasitic and
predatory species are known. A few species are kleptoparasites. Some species
in the genus Hippelates and Siphunculina (S. funicola
being quite well known in Asia) are called eye gnats or eye flies for their
habit of being attracted to eyes. They feed on lachrymal secretions and other
body fluids of various animals including humans. There are scant records
of chloropids from amber deposits, mostly from the Eocene and Oligocene
periods although some material may suggest that the group dates back to the
Cretaceous or earlier. Chloropisca glabra Meig. is a predator of the
sugar beet root aphid, Pemphigus betae Doane, and has been considered
to be the most effective natural enemy of this pest (Parker 1918). Hundreds of individuals are found on a
single infested plant. The female crawls
down the base of the plant to insert her ovipositor by a backward thrust into
a soil crevice, where the eggs are laid.
Aphids in the habitat provide the oviposition stimulus because no eggs
are found on uninfested plants. Eggs
hatch in 3-5 days, and each larva consumes up to 50 mature aphids during a
9-12 day development period. They
remain as pupae for ca. 9 months, although some individuals emerge in 2-3
weeks, producing a partial 2nd generation.
Anatrichus erinaceus Loew is predaceous on larger
larvae of the rice borer, Schoenobius
incertellus Wlk. in Taiwan (Clausen
1940/62). Behavior varies among the wholly phytophagous,
scavenger and predaceous species.
Larvae of Pseudogaurax anchora Lw. and others of that genus
feed on cast skins of Hemerocampa,
while those of Botanobia darlingtoniae Jones feed on dead
insects in pitcher plants. Other
species in several genera have been found in the burrows of other insects
where their roles were undetermined (Clausen 1940/62). = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = References: Please refer to <biology.ref.htm>, [Additional references
may be found at: MELVYL
Library] Andersson, H., 1977 Taxonomic and phylogenetic
studies on Chloropidae (Diptera) with species reference to Old World genear.
Entom. Scand. Suppl. 8: 1-200 Keys most Old World genera. Becker, T.,
1910 Chloropidae. Eine monographische Studie. Archivum
Zoologicum Budapest 1:23-174 Keys genera and species of world
fauna. Clausen, C.
P. 1940/1962.
Entomophagous Insects. McGraw-Hill
Book Co., Inc., NY. & London. 688
p. [Reprinted 1962 by Hafner Publ.
Co.]. |