A Small Parasitoid of Fire Ants, Pseudacteon obtusitus (Diptera: Phoridae): Native Range Ecology and Laboratory Rearing
The high diversity within a guild of Pseudacteon Coquillet (Diptera: Phoridae) parasitoid flies hosted by the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), may be based on several niche axes, including host size specialization, host location cues, climatic responses, and...
| Autores: | , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2020 |
| País: | Argentina |
| Institución: | Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas |
| Repositorio: | CONICET Digital (CONICET) |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/156927 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/11336/156927 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | ARGENTINA FLY ENDOPARASITOID TEMPERATURE PHORIADE SOLENOPSIS INVICTA https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6 https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1 |
| Sumario: | The high diversity within a guild of Pseudacteon Coquillet (Diptera: Phoridae) parasitoid flies hosted by the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), may be based on several niche axes, including host size specialization, host location cues, climatic responses, and tolerances. The recently described species, Pseudacteon obtusitus Plowes, Folgarait, and Gilbert (Diptera: Phoridae), is one of the smallest species in this group (with a thorax width of only 0.3 mm), and appears to locate ant hosts on foraging trails as well as at nest disturbances. Here we examine the ecology, phenology, and development of this parasitoid at sites in Corrientes, Argentina. Pseudacteon obtusitus has 2 seasons of peak abundance, and exhibits low tolerance for cold temperatures or extended cold periods. It preys on the smallest ant workers (typically 0.6 mm head width) independent of the ant size offered, and has a male biased sex ratio (mean 2.78:1). Developmental times ranged from 35 d at 27 °C to 44 d at 22 °C. This species holds interest for inclusion among the multi-species assemblage of parasitoid flies considered for biological control of S. invicta in its invasive range in North America. |
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