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Life history of Neoplasta parahebes (Diptera: Empididae: Hemerodromiinae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 January 2012

J. Robert Harkrider
J. Robert Harkrider
Affiliation:
Biology Department, Cypress College, Cypress, California 90630, United States of America (e-mail: jhark@ix.netcom.com).
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Abstract

The life history of Neoplasta parahebes MacDonald and Turner in a mountain stream in Southern California is reported. Female N. parahebes were separated from sympatric female Neoplasta hebes Melander by ovipositor morphology. Adults readily fed on adult midges (Diptera: Chironomidae) smaller than themselves. Ovarioles of gravid females contained an average of 74.8 eggs. Mating occurred in a unidirectional position. Females oviposited under the bark of submerged decaying wood. Eggs averaged 459 μm × 115 μm in size; most were laid within a 24 h period and, at room temperature, hatched in 10–11 days. There are three larval instars. Densities of larval N. parahebes were as high as 9.2 per 100 cm2 of wood surface in submerged dead tree branches. Branches also contained larvae of Orthocladius lignicola Kieffer, a wood-boring chironomid; larval N. parahebes readily fed on the midge larvae in their tunnels. Pupation occurred in the decaying wood.

Résumé

Ce travail décrit le cycle biologique de Neoplasta parahebes MacDonald et Turner dans un cours d'eau de montagne du sud de la Californie. La morphologie de l'ovipositeur permet de séparer les femelles de N. parahebes de celles de N. hebes Melander qui vivent dans le même milieu. Les adultes se nourrissent volontiers de moucherons (Diptera : Chironomidae) de taille plus petite que la leur. Les ovarioles des femelles gravides contiennent en moyenne 74,8 œufs. L'accouplement se fait en position unidirectionnelle. Les femelles pondent sous l'écorce de bois submergé et en décomposition. Les œufs ont une taille moyenne de 459 μm × 115 μm; ils sont pour la plupart pondus sur une période de moins de 24 h et, à la température de la pièce, ils éclosent en 10–11 jours. Il y a trois stades larvaires. Les densités de larves de N. parahebes peuvent atteindre 9,2 par 100 cm2 de surface de bois sur des branches submergées d'arbres morts. Les branches portent aussi des larves d'Orthocladius lignicola Kieffer, un chironomide mineur du bois; les larves de N. parahebes se nourrissent volontiers des larves du moucheron dans leur tunnel. La nymphose a lieu dans le bois en décomposition.

[Traduit par la Rédaction]

Type
Biodiversity & Evolution
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 143 , Issue 4 , August 2011 , pp. 392 - 398
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 2011

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