Host-seeking behavior in larvae of the robber fly Mallophora ruficauda (Diptera: Asilidae).

CASTELO, M.K.; LAZZARI, C.R.

JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY

ELSEVIER

Lugar: Amsterdam, The Netherlands.; Año: 2004 vol. 50 p. 331 - 336

0022-1910

The robber fly Mallophora ruficauda is the most important pest of apiculture in the Pampas region of Argentina. Adults prey on honey bees and other insects, while larvae parasitize larvae of scarab beetles, which live underground. Females of M. ruficauda do not search for hosts but instead lay eggs in tall pastures. Once hatched, larvae drop to the ground and burrow underground to search for their hosts. We tested in the laboratory whether larvae of M. ruficauda actively search for their hosts using host and/or host-related chemical cues. We report that M. ruficauda detects its prey using chemical cues that originate in the posterior half of the host’s body, most likely from an abdominal exocrine structure. This particular host-searching strategy is described for the first time in Asilidae.