Spilomyia longicornis
| Spilomyia longicornis | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Syrphidae |
| Genus: | Spilomyia |
| Species: | S. longicornis
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| Binomial name | |
| Spilomyia longicornis Loew, 1872
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| Synonyms | |
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Spilomyia longicornis is a species of syrphid fly, also known as a flower fly or hoverfly, in the family Syrphidae. Many Syrphidae flies are known to mimic Hymenoptera species.[1] Although the appearance of S. longicornis is remarkably similar to a vespid wasp, it is a fly and cannot sting.[2] It is typically found in North America, east of the Rocky Mountains.[3]
Description
S. longicornis is generally 11-15 millimeters long.[4] S. longicornis has a black body with yellow markings and stripes on its abdomen.[5] Its wings are mostly clear with a dark tinge, and the anterior portion of the wings are typically more yellow-brown in color.[5] They have three pairs of legs. The back four legs are yellowish in color, and the front two legs are yellow at the base and black at the ends.[5] They tend to rest on their back four legs and move their front two legs above their head, making them appear like antennae on the Hymenoptera species that they mimic.[5]
Distribution
Syrphidae flies are incredibly widespread and diverse.[6] Species of hoverflies have been found in almost all parts of the world.[6] S. longicornis flies have mostly been described in North America in upper east regions.[3] These flies can be found near and around flower resources that produce pollen and nectar, which they feed on.[7] Also, because their larvae develop in rot holes, rotting trees are an important environmental component of their habitat.[8]
Larval Habitat
S. longicornis larvae are typically found in rot holes, or rotting cavities found in live trees.[9] Almost all types of trees can develop rot holes, but they are more common for certain types of trees than others.[9] The rot holes provide a food source and protection for the larvae.[9] Thus, these damp environments are ideal for larval development.[9]
Adult Habitat
Adult S. longicornis flies are important pollinators and are most often found hovering over flowers.[7] The flowers that these flies visit often are producers of large amounts of pollen and nectar.[7] Some common flowers that are visited by Syrphidae flies are Ranunculaceae, Rosaceae, and Apiaceae.[7] These flowers have pollen and nectar that is easily accessible to flies, or other species, that have short proboscis.[7] Access to pollen and nectar is important for S. longicornis flies because it is their food source.[7]
Life History
The larvae of Syrphidae species are very diverse in their environments, diets, appearances and behaviors.[9] All Syrphidae species produce larvae or maggots that go through three distinct stages.[9] The posterior region of the larvae consist of two fused tubes with posterior spiracles which make up the posterior tail.[9] S. longicornis larvae are found in rot holes in rotting trees.[9] Some common trees that this occurs in are of the Fagus and Quercus genera.[9] Adult S. longicornis flies spend the majority of their time around flowers to get pollen and nectar for food and for mating.[7] Females need pollen for reproductive development.[7]
Food Resources
The hoverfly gets its name because it hovers over flowers. These flies typically feed from plants like Ranunculaceae, because they make lots of pollen and nectar that is easy to access for these flies.[7] Only adult S. longicornis flies eat the pollen and nectar from flowers, while larvae eat a variety of different resources in their environment.[7] Pollen has a high content of nitrogenous nutrients. Because of this, females are able to use the nutrients from pollen to develop their reproductive tissues.[7] These nutrients, which are not consumed by S. longicornis flies until adulthood, are important for vitellogenesis, also known as yolk deposition.[7] They also consume nectar from flowers and use that energy for their hovering behavior.[7]
Mating
Female Syrphidae flies typically spend most of their time feeding on flowers.[8] To find a mate, males exhibit many mate-seeking behaviors.[8] Males will patrol the areas near flowers and other resources that females frequent.[8] They have also been documented to rest on leaves and plants near flowers that females may feed from.[8] Other times, they hover singly or in groups around these resources, waiting for females to pass.[8] In the air, males may chase other males away from the site they are guarding.[8] When a female passes, the male will follow her and attempt to mate with her; they may move under a nearby leaf or go into a rot hole.[8] Most Syrphidae species mate in the air.[9] In some Syrphidae species, it has been documented that males will also patrol potential larval environments, like rot holes, for mates.[8] S. longicornis males have been directly observed mate-seeking near flowers.[8] Typically, female hoverflies take multiple mates and have the ability to store sperm and choose which sperm they use.[6] This allows sexual selection and evolution to occur.
Mimicry
Mimicry Overview
S. longicornis flies are most well known for their mimicry. There are two main forms of mimicry. The first is Mullerian mimicry, which is typically a mutualistic occurrence, and is when two similar species evolve to be phenotypically similar.[2] The other type of mimicry is called Batesian mimicry, which is when a defenseless species evolves to mimic a more poisonous or dangerous or unpleasant species.[2] Sometimes this is thought of as parasitic mimicry.[2] Mimicry is not only visual. A lot of times, the mimicking species also mimics sounds and behaviors from their host species.[2] There are many proposed reasons as to why species mimic other species. An explanation for Mullerian mimicry is that the evolution of the same warning signal shared between species will reduce the risk of predation by making the warning signal more well known to predators.[10] In Batesian mimicry, the mimicking species gains protection from predators by looking like a noxious species, even though it is not.[10]
Mimicry in Spilomyia longicornis
Most Syrphidae flies mimic Hymenoptera species.[1] S. longicornis mimics the wasp species Vespula vulgaris, also known as the common wasp.[2] It is a very close mimic but not perfect. S. longicornis flies mimic vespid wasps in three main ways: physically, behaviorally, and auditorily. Just like vespid wasps, the anterior portion of the wings of S. longicornis flies are a lighter yellowish brown color than the rest of the wing.[5] Their abdomen is yellow with black stripes, and the thorax and head are similarly colored.[5] At first glance, S. longicornis and the common wasp seem barely distinguishable. However, there are a few important features that differ. First, S. longicornis has a pair of short, black antenna, while vespid wasps have a pair of long black antennae.[2] Also, all of the common wasp's legs are yellow, while the front two legs of S. longicornis are black at the ends.[5] Behaviorally, S. longicornis flies mimic the way common wasps move their antennae.[5] By resting on their back four legs and placing and moving their two front black legs above their head, they look like they are acting like wasps.[11] Also, when threatened, S. longicornis bend their abdomen in a similar fashion to wasps who are stinging a predator.[5] They may also move their abdomen up and down when they are on a flower, which is a mimic of wasp abdomen expansion.[5] Finally, it has been documented that S. longicornis flies, when threatened, produce a different buzzing sound than normal.[12] While wasps do not necessarily produce a different sound upon attack, the sound S. longicornis makes when threatened seems to be of a frequency similar to a general hymenoptera species.[12] This strategy may have evolved because the visual and behavioral mimicry may not always work.[12]
Taxonomy
S. longicornis flies are part of the Syrphidae family, which is of the order Diptera. The hoverfly family is one of the most diverse in the Diptera order.[6] There are at least 200 genera and 5000 species included.[6] These species are incredibly diverse, both in geography and in behavior.[6] Some flies are 400-fold more heavy than others in the family.[6] Furthermore, some feed on very specific flower types, and are called specialists, while others are less discriminatory about their food choices and are called generalists.[6] The evolution of this family of flies may be driven by female hoverflies' abilities to mate multiply and store sperm.[6] This results in sperm choice and sexual selection, which drives evolution and speciation. Studies have shown that clade specific factors have contributed to the speciation of Syrphidae flies.[6]
Interaction with Humans
The larvae of many Syrphidae species are known to be effective biological control agents.[7] One way to do this is by providing more flowers in target areas to attract Syrphidae flies, who should thus reproduce in the area.[7] Many Syrphidae larvae feed on aphids, which are pests in orchards and other annual crops,[7] giving them use in biocontrol efforts.
External links
- Diptera.info
- NCBI Taxonomy Browser, Spilomyia longicornis
Media related to Spilomyia longicornis at Wikimedia Commons
References
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- ^ a b Waldbauer, G. P. (n.d.). Mimicry of Hymenopteran Antennae by Syrphidae. Department of Entomology, University of Illinois.
- ^ a b c d e f g Penney, H. (2001). Evolution of Imperfect Mimicry: Explaining Variation in Mimetic Fidelity among Syrphid Species. Ottawa, ON: Carleton University. https://curve.carleton.ca/system/files/etd/c3df345b-38ec-4006-8143-6698a6294f9d/etd_pdf/d4161934a9585fb98190d9a19bed4e1b/penney-evolutionofimperfectmimicryexplainingvariation.pdf
- ^ a b Spilomyia longicornis Loew, 1872. (n.d.). Retrieved October 27, 2019, from Discover Life website: https://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?search=Spilomyia+longicornis
- ^ Species Spilomyia longicornis. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23, 2019, from Bug Guide website: https://bugguide.net/node/view/5906
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Curran, C. H. (1951). Synopsis of the North American Species of Spilomyia (Syrphidae, Diptera). American Museum Novitates. http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/bitstream/handle/2246/2364//v2/dspace/ingest/pdfSource/nov/N1492.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Katzourakis, A. , Purvis, A. , Azmeh, S. , Rotheray, G. and Gilbert, F. (2001), Macroevolution of hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae): the effect of using higher‐level taxa in studies of biodiversity, and correlates of species richness. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 14: 219-227. doi:10.1046/j.1420-9101.2001.00278.x
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Branquart, E., & Hemptinne, J.-L. (2000). Selectivity in the exploitation of floral resources by hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphinae). Ecography, 23, 732-742. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1600-0587.2000.tb00316.x
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Chris T. Maier, G. P. Waldbauer, Dual Mate-Seeking Strategies in Male Syrphid Flies (Diptera: Syrphidae), Annals of the Entomological Society of America, Volume 72, Issue 1, 15 January 1979, Pages 54–61, https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/72.1.54
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Sommaggio, D. (1999). Syrphidae: can they be used as environmental bioindicators? Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 74(1-3), 343-356. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-8809(99)00042-0
- ^ a b Pfennig, D. W., & Kikuchi, D. W. (2012). Competition and the evolution of imperfect mimicry. Current Zoology, 58(4), 608-619. http://labs.bio.unc.edu/pfennig/LabSite/Publications_files/2012b_Curr_Zool.pdf
- ^ Rashed, A., & Sherratt, T. N. (2006). Mimicry in hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae): a field test of the competitive mimicry hypothesis. Behavioral Ecology, 18(2), 337–344. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arl089
- ^ a b c A. Rashed, M.I. Khan, J.W. Dawson, J.E. Yack, T.N. Sherratt, Do hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) sound like the Hymenoptera they morphologically resemble?, Behavioral Ecology, Volume 20, Issue 2, March-April 2009, Pages 396–402, https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arn148