File: <chama1.ima.htm> [For educational purposes only] Terminology Glossary <Principal Natural Enemy Groups > <Citations>

Immature Stages of Chamaemyidae

Detailed information on immature stages of Chamaemyidae (= Ochthiphilidae) is being acquired. However, Martelli (1908) studied Filippia oleae Costa in Italy. He found that the entire contents of the host=s egg sac was consumed by a single larva, and the cycle from egg to adult covered 30 days. He reported 4-5 generations per year.

A Leucopis species was studied by Cherian (1933). This is a predator of aphids in India. The egg is 0.36 mm long, white and ribbed longitudinally. The 1st instar larva lacks integumentary hairs, while the mature form has several fleshy processes on each body segment. The posterior spiracles of all instars are borne on stalked processes, which are most pronounced on the mature larva and the puparium. Before pupation, the larva exudes a large quantity of mucilaginous material which darkens quickly and firmly attaches the puparium to the substratum. The egg, larval, and pupal stages cover 2-4, 4-5 and 5-7 days, respectively.

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Fig. 192

In Leucopis bella Lw. And L. griseola Fall in North America, Maple (Clausen 1940) found the eggs to measure ca. 0.5 by 0.16 mm, with the anterior end somewhat pointed. They are pearly white with the surface bearing longitudinal ridges. They are laid singly among the egg mass or colonies of the host and hatch in 3-4 days. There are 3 larval instars in L. bella. The first is white in color, later becoming reddish, broadest in the abdominal region and bluntly rounded posteriorly, and it tapers considerably toward the head. The integument is bare. The posterior spiracles are simple and borne on prominent conical processes, and the anterior spiracles are minute. The 3rd instar larva (Fig. 192A) is 5.0 mm long and clothed only with minute setae. The posterior spiracles (Fig. 192C) are borne on long and almost cylindrical processes, which are widely separated, diverging and directed dorsad. Each spiracle consists of 3 curved finger-like projections, each of which bears an opening at the apex. The larva of L. griseola differs from L. bella by possessing small fleshy spines on all body segments.

In both species the number of molts varies at times, seemingly due to temperature variations. Some individuals have only 2 larval instars rather than the usual 3.

Pupation occurs among the host egg masses. An incomplete cocoon is spun, which is composed of a network of coarse threads. The puparium (Fig. 192D) is dull reddish-brown in color and indistinctly segmented except for the anterior region (Clausen 1940). The stalked caudal spiracles of the mature larva persist unchanged, and there are no protruding prothoracic pupal cornicles.

Malloch (1921) described the puparia of several predatory species from Illinois. The puparium of L. orbitalis Malloch has minute 4-branched anterior spiracles, and the caudal pair are borne on short, stout stalks lying closely adherent to the substratum on which the puparium is formed. In Leucopomyia pulvinariae Malloch, the posterior spiracles are very small and sessile, differing in this respect from those described for other species of this family. Most species have the ventral side of the puparium somewhat flattened, and in some the dorsum is depressed (Clausen 1940).

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