Thread subject: Diptera.info :: Bombyliidae - Dematoneura sp. (Gabon)
Posted by jorgemotalmeida on 22-09-2007 11:39
#1
This is another spectacular fly from Gabon.
It was taken by Axel Rouvin, that authorized me to show the photo.
Taken on 15 AUg. 2007 in Estuaire - Gabon.
Is it possible to know the genus level, at least..
Edited by jorgemotalmeida on 24-09-2007 12:21
Posted by David Gibbs on 24-09-2007 10:12
#2
based on my specimens from Europe (i have no Afrotropical specimens), i would call this
Dematoneura, 2 species (
choreutes(Bowden,1964) and
meridionalis (Hesse, 1956)) are listed for central Africa but there are likely to be numerous undescribed taxa in the region.
Posted by jorgemotalmeida on 24-09-2007 12:19
#3
there is no info about Dematoneura in the net. Can you tell if is know th ehosts for genus Demanoteura? Thank you.
Posted by David Gibbs on 24-09-2007 14:39
#4
jorgemotalmeida wrote:
there is no info about Dematoneura in the net.
not surprising, very little is known about most Beeflies, the tribe Xeramoebini is recorded from Diptera, spiders, bees, Sphecids, Braconids, vespid and grasshoppers (Yeates & Greathead 1997) so just about anything. why do you want to know? the very non-specific nature of beefly parasitoidism makes it of little value for identification, even if we did know more.
Posted by jorgemotalmeida on 24-09-2007 16:27
#5
ok. I see there are no specific hosts. It turns more hard the things for us. :)
But it is a good way for species population surviving better.
However, I know that there are in some beeflies (some) specificity on hosts. For example "Exhyalanthrax on pupiparous higher Diptera, Systropus on saddleback moths (Limacodidae), Geron on Psychidae.." (info in HBS museum)
Posted by David Gibbs on 24-09-2007 17:34
#6
jorgemotalmeida wrote:
However, I know that there are in some beeflies (some) specificity on hosts. For example "Exhyalanthrax on pupiparous higher Diptera, Systropus on saddleback moths (Limacodidae), Geron on Psychidae.." (info in HBS museum)
are you sure such apparent host specificity is not merely an artifact of very few records, often emanating from one individual sudying a particular economically important insect.
Exhyalanthrax - records for 6 species 15 citations diptera, braconid, pyralid, noctuid
Systropus - 8 species, 13 citations, all Limacodids so this genus does seem to be more specific, but one species recorded from 3 different genera of family.
Geron - 8 species, 16 citations, Ichnumonid, pyralid, noctuid, tortricid, tachinidae, thus a range of moths and, i would guss, any parasitoid of these moths.
so of these three genera, only one can be tied down to a single Order of host! i suspect that adult beeflies are adapted to search out localities where their favoured hosts are likely to be pupating. However, if a beefly larvae happens to find a larvae of some other insect of the right size it will attach and be able to complete development in many cases. Lepidoptera and economically important insects (and their parasitoides) feature prominently in the list because more work has been done on the early stages of these species than any others.