Avian hosts, prevalence and larval life history of the ectoparasitic fly Passeromyia longicornis (Diptera : Muscidae) in south-eastern Tasmania

2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda B. Edworthy

Blood-sucking fly larvae are widespread parasites of nestling birds, but in many systems we lack knowledge of their basic biology. This study reports the first observation of an endemic Tasmanian fly species, Passeromyia longicornis (Diptera : Muscidae), parasitising the forty-spotted pardalote (Pardalotus quadragintus), another Tasmanian endemic. Because the forty-spotted pardalote is an endangered and declining songbird, P. longicornis is a species of interest to conservation biologists. Its larval form is an obligate, subcutaneous parasite of nestling birds, but before this study, there were just two published records of the species infesting avian hosts, and little known about its ecology or life cycle. This study documented hosts, prevalence, and larval life history of P. longicornis by locating and monitoring nests and ectoparasites of the forest bird community in south-eastern Tasmania. I also reared P. longicornis larvae in captivity to determine the length of the pupal stage in relationship to ambient temperature. Hosts of P. longicornis included forty-spotted pardalotes (87% prevalence across nests), striated pardalotes (Pardalotus striatus) (88% prevalence), and New Holland honeyeaters (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae) (11% prevalence). Both pardalote species were new host records. P. longicornis larvae burrowed under the skin of nestlings where they developed for 4–7 days, feeding on nestling blood. When fully grown, larvae dropped into the surrounding nest material and formed pupae. Length of the pupal stage was 14–21 days, and declined with increasing ambient temperature. Median parasite abundance was 15 larvae in infested forty-spotted pardalote nests and 11 larvae in infested striated pardalote nests. Nestling mortality was frequently associated with ectoparasite presence. This study provides the first survey of P. longicornis hosts, prevalence and life cycle, and shows that this species is likely a major player in the ecology of pardalotes, and possibly other forest bird species in Tasmania.

2014 ◽  
Vol 149 ◽  
pp. 194-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabien Morat ◽  
Yves Letourneur ◽  
Dominique Blamart ◽  
Christophe Pécheyran ◽  
Audrey M. Darnaude ◽  
...  

1976 ◽  
Vol 108 (11) ◽  
pp. 1235-1241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stewart B. Peck ◽  
Donald R. Russell

AbstractThe mycetophilid Macrocera nobilis Johnson, previously known only from forests in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, is here reported from caves in Oklahoma, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia. A study of populations in Oklahoma shows that the short-lived adults mate in cave entrances, but that oviposition, larval development, and pupation occur only in the dark zone of caves. The larvae build extensive webs upon which they travel and which they use to capture insect prey (mostly other Diptera). Reproduction and life cycle development is not seasonal. The larval stage lasts 9 or 10 months, and the pupal stage about 2 weeks.


2005 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 459-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Eduard Linsenmair ◽  
Julian Glos

AbstractThe genus Boophis is very diverse in species number and ecology within the endemic Malagasy family Mantellidae. Two species, Boophis doulioti and B. xerophilus, stand out as they are breeding in stagnant waters in the dry west and south of Madagascar, while the large majority are specialized to breeding in brooks of the rainforests in the east. In this paper the morphology, larval life history, ecology of the sympatric tadpoles and some aspects of the breeding ecology of B. doulioti and B. xerophilus are described. Tadpoles of the two species differ in many morphological characters and proportions, with differing positions of the eyes and body coloration being the most prominent. There is a considerable temporal and spatial overlap in the choice of breeding ponds by both species in the study area. However, B. xerophilus tadpoles are restricted to larger and more permanent breeding ponds while the generalistic B. doulioti uses also smaller and more ephemeral water bodies. Variability in larval life history traits of B. doulioti individuals growing up in ephemeral ponds compared to those from more permanent ponds indicates considerable developmental plasticity in tadpole life history of this species.


Herpetologica ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 252-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher K. Beachy ◽  
Travis J. Ryan ◽  
Ronald M. Bonett

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