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| Atherigona culicivora, new species. 28, larval habitat: A stump of a young bamboo shoot of Gigantochloa scortechinii in Peninsular Malaysia with A. culicivora females and other flies breeding in the shoots, such as Tipulidae and Drosophilidae; 29, a gravid A. culicivora female, feeding on the wall of a cut bamboo shoot, photographed in the field; 30, two larvae floating in the water, the black posterior spiracles are attached to the water surface, note mosquito larvae of different sizes; 31, larva feeding on a mosquito larva; 32, eggs deposited on the wet bamboo shoot sheath; 33, larva pupariating on the bamboo wall above the water surface, note the foam surrounding the anterior part of the body; 34, three puparia attached to the bamboo wall. Kovac, Pont & Deeming, 2023. |
Abstract
The male, female, egg, third instar larva, and puparium of Atherigona (Acritochaeta) culicivora, new
species, are described from Peninsular Malaysia and northern Thailand. The saprophagous larvae of A. culicivora
develop in water-filled stumps of freshly cut young bamboo shoots. They are subaquatic facultative predators of
mosquito larvae, which is unique in the otherwise terrestrial genus Atherigona Rondani. Eggs are laid on the wet
bamboo wall above the water surface. The larvae float upside down in the water, with their posterior spiracles
attached to the water surface. When mosquito larvae approach, they quickly grab them and wrap themselves around
the prey. Mature larvae crawl ashore and secrete a protective foam during pupariation. The development of A.
culicivora from egg to adult takes only 13–14 days, which is an adaptation to the ephemeral nature of decaying
bamboo shoots. Feeding on mosquito larvae may provide additional or complementary nutrients that could, for
example, accelerate the rate of development of A. culicivora. The transition of A. culicivora from a terrestrial to
an aquatic lifestyle was probably facilitated by the lack of aquatic predators in its habitat.
Key words. life cycle, aquatic lifestyle, facultative predator, Culicidae, bamboo phytotelmata
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| Atherigona culicivora, new species: 1, holotype male, lateral view, body length ca. 6 mm; 2, holotype male, dorsal view; 3, two males, lateral view, showing terminalia (Malaysia, Pahang state, Genting Highlands, 3.381°N 101.779°E, at 800 m, 1 to 7 December 2019; photos: E. Makovetskaya and N. Vikhrev). |
Atherigona (Acritochaeta) culicivora, new species Diagnosis. A large species of the subgenus Acritochaeta Grimshaw (Figs. 1–3), with shining fronto-orbital plates, mid femur with 2 posterior preapical setae, and hind femur without a dorsal preapical seta. Males are easily recognised by secondary sexual characters: wing-tip with a dark cloud (Fig. 7) and fore tarsomere 5 flattened and modified in structure and bristling (Fig. 6). Etymology. The name of the species is derived from the Latin ‘culex’ (midge) and ‘vorare’ (to devour), and refers to the feeding habits of the larvae. |
| Atherigona culicivora, new species. Habitat and life stages: 28, larval habitat: A stump of a young bamboo shoot of Gigantochloa scortechinii in Peninsular Malaysia with A. culicivora females and other flies breeding in the shoots, such as Tipulidae and Drosophilidae; 29, a gravid A. culicivora female, feeding on the wall of a cut bamboo shoot, photographed in the field; 30, two larvae floating in the water, the black posterior spiracles are attached to the water surface, note mosquito larvae of different sizes; 31, larva feeding on a mosquito larva; 32, eggs deposited on the wet bamboo shoot sheath; 33, larva pupariating on the bamboo wall above the water surface, note the foam surrounding the anterior part of the body; 34, three puparia attached to the bamboo wall. |
Damir Kovac, Adrian C. Pont and John C. Deeming. 2023. Atherigona culicivora, New Species (Insecta: Diptera: Muscidae), A Bamboo Shoot-fly feeding on Mosquito Larvae. RAFFLES BULLETIN OF ZOOLOGY. 71: 583–595.
