Thread subject: Diptera.info :: Plastered egg clutch
Posted by HDumas on 25-06-2015 15:55
#1
Hello,
This cluster of eggs, covered with a kind of plaster, was found under a leaf of a weed (
Lactuca?).
Tens of larvae emerged on the same day, breaking a piece of the "plaster".
We hope
we are right and they are Diptera indeed, but we can't figure out more about them. Can you maybe tell us more?
Thanks for your help!
H.Dumas : France : La Ciotat : 13600 : 08/06/2015
Altitude : NR - Taille : 8 x 5 x 4 mm
Réf. : 143168
H.Dumas : France : La Ciotat : 13600 : 19/06/2015
Altitude : NR - Taille : Larve: 2.5 mm
Réf. : 143176
Posted by Tony Irwin on 25-06-2015 17:19
#2
The egg mass looks very like those produced by some Tabanidae and Rhagionidae, but I don't know of any that coat it in plaster
Posted by HDumas on 26-06-2015 17:14
#3
It was in a dry and wild garden, where I've never noticed any Tabanidae, but I did see several species of Rhagionidae.
So could it be more probably a Rhagionidae?
Posted by atylotus on 27-06-2015 06:55
#4
larvae is Tabanidae and the fact that the eggs are laid in a single layer my first guess was Chrysops spec. However I cannot rule out Haemotopota or perhaps even Philipomyia/Silvius ? Chrysops prefer more or less moist habitats, while the other are more found in arid/dry areas. I'm not that familiar with egg cases within Tabanids but the number of layers differ with genera.
Posted by HDumas on 28-06-2015 15:11
#5
Thanks Atylotus. I'll keep on searching with these hints.
Posted by HDumas on 10-07-2019 12:17
#6
A few years later...
I found no clue among Tabanidae.
But what about Asilidae?
Some Asilinae genera (i.e., Mallophora, Megaphorus, Porasilus)
that deposit their eggs in a frothy or chalky-white “case,” oviposit from 32 to 729 eggs.
In:
Dennis, D. S., J. K. Barnes and L. Knutson. 2013. Review and analysis of information on the biology and morphology of immature stages of robber flies (Diptera: Asilidae). Zootaxa 3673: 1–64
About
Mallophora orcina:
Oviposition occurred on vegetation 1–3 m above the ground with approximately 188–323 eggs deposited in layers in a chalky-white albumin.
In:
Dennis, D. S. (2015). Oviposition, Eggs, and First Instar Larvae of Mallophora orcina (Wiedemann, 1828)(Diptera: Asilidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 117(3), 269-280.
A few pics of
Mallophorina egg cases:
here and
there.
As far as I know, none of these genera occur in Europe. So???
Edited by HDumas on 10-07-2019 12:23
Posted by HDumas on 16-07-2019 10:01
#7
I've contacted S. Dennis, and according to him this egg mass in not from a robber fly.
Thanks to him.
