Eibesfeldtphora digitata
| Eibesfeldtphora digitata | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Eibesfeldtphora digitata | ||||||||||||
| Brown , 2012 |
Eibesfeldtphora digitata is a fly art from the family of the humpbacked flies (Phoridae). It becomes 2.2 mm long and is a typical representative of the genus Eibesfeldtphora with well-developed wings, a graceful body and a brownish top. E. digitata lives in the Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro and Espirito Santo , where it parasitizes the leaf cutter ant Atta robusta . The fly lays its eggs in the back of the workers' heads. The hatching larvae eat their way through the head capsule and finally hatch fully pupated from the mouth opening. Since A. robusta is likely the only host of the species and is considered critically endangered, E. digitata is believed to pose a similar threat.
features
Eibesfeldtphora digitata is a typical representative of the genus Eibesfeldtphora , which is characterized by a great deal of similarity between its species. So far only female animals have been described. They reach a body length of 2.2 mm. The front is narrow and brown, it has a central furrow. E. digitata has three times four forehead bristles . The lower interfrontal setae are significantly lower than the lower fronto-orbital steae. Supra-antennale setae are absent from the species as well as from the rest of the genus. E. digitata has three ocelli and a black ocellar triangle. Palpus and proboscis are small and yellow in color. The first flagellomer is slightly pointed and light brown, antenna bristles are present. The pronotum of E. digitata is light brown, the scutellum is dark brown and has fine hairs on the front and long bristles on the back. The pleuron of the species is yellow to light brown, the anepisternum is bare. E. digitata has, as is common for the genus, yellow legs whose tibiae are covered with a series of elongated hairs on the back. The apex of the 5th anterior tarsomere is not narrowed, the claws are reduced. The wings are well developed, the R 2 + 3 vein is present, the Costa loader is half as long as the wing. The swinging bulbs of the species are brown. The abdominal segments 1 to 5 are ventrally yellow, rarely light brown in color; the sixth segment is dark gray and turns yellow towards the back. The abdominal tergites are gray-brown and have a yellow band on the back. The final seventh segment, the oviscap , is diagnostic for the species: As with all Eibesfeldtphora species, it is dark gray, but the wrinkled appendages typical of the genus are finger-like. They are narrow, flattened on top and bottom and curved downwards. Both the dorsal and the ventral process are covered with fine hairs. The segments 8 to 10 are transformed into a sting in the female.
distribution
The distribution of Eibesfeltphora digitata probably coincides with that of its host Atta robusta , which means that the species would be restricted to the coastal regions of the Brazilian states of Rio di Janeiro and Espirito Santo .
habitat
Little is known about the habitat use of the species. Your host lives in the Restinga dune vegetation on the Brazilian Atlantic coast. E. digitata females attack workers along ant roads as well as at nest entrances, but prefer to stay at the latter. This is probably related to the corresponding demands on moisture and light intensity in the microhabitat .
Way of life
According to the current state of knowledge, Eibesfeldtphora digitata only attacks the ant species Atta robusta and, along with E. breviloba and Myrmosicarius exrobusta, is one of three known humpback fly parasitoids of this species. The females attack the workers of this species by flying towards their heads from the side or from behind and with them Lay eggs in the back of their heads in their Oviscap. The workers react to the approaching flies by running to the nest entrance, attacking them with their mouthparts or lowering their bodies and covering their heads with their legs. Possibly, the transport of smaller conspecifics on pieces of leaf serves to protect the workers from humpback flies . If E. digitata is successful in laying eggs, the eggs will likely develop in the ants' head capsule. The hatching larvae feed on the ants' head tissue. A single larva per head pupates between the mouthparts, from where they finally hatch.
Systematics and taxonomy
Eibesfeldtphora digitata was discovered by the Brazilian entomologists Marcos AL Braganca, Diego S. Gomes, Jarbas M. Queiros and Marcos C. Teixeiras during field studies. In 2012 it was described by Brian V. Brown in a joint publication. The specific epithet digitata refers to the finger-like abdominal processes that are typical of this species. Morphologically it resembles the species E. isomorpha and E. saltensis and is systematically probably particularly close to the former.
status
Atta robusta is considered threatened due to the destruction of their habitat. Their range is relatively small and limited to a densely populated coastal region. It is the only known host of E. digitata and the only representative of the genus Atta in its range. The discoverers of the species therefore assume that the fly is threatened with extinction in the same way as its host.
swell
literature
- Brian V. Brown, Marcos AL Braganca, Diego S. Gomes, Jarbas M. Queiros, Marcos C. Teixeira: Parasitoid Phorid Flies (Diptera: Phoridae) from the Threatened Leafcutter Ant Atta robusta Borgmeier (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). In: Zootaxa 3385, 2012. pp. 33-38.