Mushroom Phorid Flies. A Review

Diptera are among the most serious arthropod pests affecting mushroom crops. Phorid flies, especially Megaselia halterata, have traditionally been globally considered as a minor pest, although they are a very important problem on Spanish mushroom farms. The concerns with respect to the phorid fly populations have recently increased, notably jumping from being a minor to major pest in India, UK and the USA, where yield losses ranging between 10 and 40% were reported. This review updates and summarizes the available literature regarding mushroom phorid populations, stressing the natural distribution of phorids and their seasonal distribution, their biology within the growing substrates and the initial sources of infestation on mushroom farms. Moreover, the review also highlights the scarce available tools for their control and the current alternatives to chemical products.

Megaselia steptoeae (Diptera: Phoridae): specialists on smashed snails

Phorid flies are amongst the most biologically diverse and species-rich groups of insects. Ways of life range from parasitism, herbivory, fungivory, to scavenging. Although the lifestyles of most species are unknown, many are parasitoids, especially of social insects. Some species of ant-parasitoids are attracted to injured hosts for feeding purposes to develop eggs, as well as for oviposition, requiring each female to find two injured hosts. Females of the phorid fly Megaselia steptoeae Hartop et al. (Diptera: Phoridae) were found to be quickly attracted to crushed glass snails of the species Oxychilus draparnaudi (Beck) (Gastropoda: Oxychilidae). Most females were without mature eggs and apparently were attracted for feeding purposes only; other injured molluscs offered at the same time were not attractive. One female laid eggs in captivity and offspring were reared to the pupal stage. The lifestyle of this species is similar to that of parasitoids of injured ants, which also require separate hosts of the same species for feeding and oviposition. We conclude that injured hosts must be common in the environment to attract these host-specific scavengers.

Temperature accounts for the biodiversity of a hyperdiverse group of insects in urban Los Angeles

The urban heat island effect is a worldwide phenomenon that has been linked to species distributions and abundances in cities. However, effects of urban heat on biotic communities are nearly impossible to disentangle from effects of land cover in most cases because hotter urban sites also have less vegetation and more impervious surfaces than cooler sites within cities. We sampled phorid flies, one of the largest, most biologically diverse families of true flies (Insecta: Diptera: Phoridae), at 30 sites distributed within the central Los Angeles Basin, where we found that temperature and the density of urban land cover are decoupled. Abundance, richness, and community composition of phorids inside urban Los Angeles were most parsimoniously accounted for by mean air temperature in the week preceding sampling. Sites with intermediate mean temperatures had more phorid fly individuals and higher richness. Communities were more even at urban sites with lower minimum temperatures and sites located further away from natural areas, suggesting that communities separated from natural source populations may be more homogenized. Species composition was best explained by minimum temperature. Inasmuch as warmer areas within cities can predict future effects of climate change, phorid fly communities are likely to shift nonlinearly under future climates in more natural areas. Exhaustive surveys of biotic communities within cities, such as the one we describe here, can provide baselines for determining the effects of urban and global climate warming as they intensify.

Temperature accounts for the biodiversity of a hyperdiverse group of insects in urban Los Angeles

The urban heat island effect is a worldwide phenomenon that has been linked to species’ distributions and abundances in cities. However, effects of urban heat on biotic communities are nearly impossible to disentangle from effects of land cover in most cases because hotter urban sites also have less vegetation and more impervious surfaces than cooler sites within cities. We sampled phorid flies, one of the largest, most biologically diverse families of true flies (Insecta: Diptera: Phoridae), at 30 sites distributed within the central Los Angeles Basin, where we found that temperature and the density of urban land cover are decoupled. Abundance, richness, and community composition of phorids inside urban Los Angeles were most parsimoniously accounted for by mean air temperature in the week preceding sampling. Sites with intermediate mean temperatures had more phorid fly individuals and higher richness. Communities were more even at urban sites with lower minimum temperatures and sites located further away from natural areas, suggesting that communities separated from natural source populations may be more homogenized. Species composition was best explained by minimum temperature. Inasmuch as warmer areas within cities can predict future effects of climate change, phorid fly communities are likely to shift non-linearly under future climates in more natural areas. Exhaustive surveys of biotic communities within cities, such as the one we describe here, can provide baselines for determining the effects of urban and global climate warming as they intensify.

Dohrniphora (Diptera: Phoridae) from the Miocene Mexican and Dominican ambers with a paleobiological reconstruction

Male specimens of the phorid fly genus Dohrniphora Dahl from Miocene Mexican and Dominican amber are revised and described. This is the first systematic revision of the fossil species, and 11 new species are recognized from two Dohrniphora groups: those with and without large hind tibial setae. The group lacking hind tibial setae is notably more diverse and frequent in amber than those with such setae. Swarming behavior in Dohrniphora females is noted for the first time. Probably, these females were frequently attracted in large numbers to dead and decaying insects and other animals trapped in resin. Another phorid genus with similar habits, Puliciphora, frequently co-occurs in amber pieces containing Dohrniphora specimens.

Parasite mediated competition facilitates invasion

Parasites play an important role in invasion success with important consequences for biodiversity and community structure. While much research has focused on direct effects of parasites on biological invasions, parasites can also indirectly influence interactions within the invaded community across trophic levels. For instance, parasites can mediate competitive interactions between native and exotic species through trait-mediated indirect effects. We consider the interactions between the parasitoid fly Pseudacteon sp. (Diptera: Phoridae), and its native host ant Linipethema iniquum, and the exotic ant Wasmannia auropunctata in the introduced range of Puerto Rico. We examined the effects of phorid flies on the competitive outcome between the arboreal ants W. auropunctata and native ant L. iniquum. Furthermore, we investigate the searching efficiency of phorid flies in detecting L. iniquum nests. To study the indirect effects on ant competition, we monitored ant recruitment to baits over a 60-min time interval in the presence and absence of phorid fly parasitoids. We then performed field experiments and measured phorid arrival time to arboreal nests of L. iniquum located in both a) W. auropunctata patches and in b) isolated patches dominated by L. iniquum nests. We found that the presence of phorid fly significantly reduced recruitment of L. iniquum workers to baits through induced behavioral changes thereby increasing the ability of W. auropunctata to acquire resources. In addition, we found that phorid arrival time in isolated patches of L. iniquum patches was faster as compared to L. iniquum nests located within W. auropunctata patches. Our results show that phorid fly parasitoids indirectly may influence competitive interactions by attacking the host-ant L. iniquum and consequently providing an advantage to local spread of W. auropuntata populations in Puerto Rico. However, the spatial dynamics of arboreal ants shows that L. iniquum seeks protection from phorid fly parasotoids by moving their nests to W. auropunctata dominated patches.