Thread subject: Diptera.info :: What do you think?

Posted by Kahis on 13-11-2007 23:51
#6

I suspect that they may be caused by parasitoids - only in these cases the host 'wins' and manages to kill the parasite larva before it causes too much damage. I have no real evidence for the hypothesis, but it is probably significant that this type of aberrantions in rather common in Syrphinae which predatory larvae, but less so in other flies with less accessible larval stages.