New Canadian Records of Asilidae (Diptera) From an Endangered Ontario Ecosystem

The Asilidae (Diptera) of Bosanquet (northern Lambton County, Ontario) are surveyed. Forty-one species are recorded. Twelve species are published for the first time from Canada: Atomosia puella, Cerotainia albipilosa, Cerotainia macrocera, Holcocephala calva, Holopogon (Holopogon) oriens, Laphria canis, Laphria divisor, Laphria grossa, Lasiopogon opaculus, Machimus notatus, Machimus sadyates, and Neomochtherus auricomus. These species plus the following four are new to Ontario: Laphystia flavipes, Lasiopogon tetragrammus, Machimus novaescotiae, and Proctacanthella ca­copiloga

New Canadian Records of Asilidae (Diptera) From an Endangered Ontario Ecosystem

The Asilidae (Diptera) of Bosanquet (northern Lambton County, Ontario) are surveyed. Forty-one species are recorded. Twelve species are published for the first time from Canada: Atomosia puella, Cerotainia albipilosa, Cerotainia macrocera, Holcocephala calva, Holopogon (Holopogon) oriens, Laphria canis, Laphria divisor, Laphria grossa, Lasiopogon opaculus, Machimus notatus, Machimus sadyates, and Neomochtherus auricomus. These species plus the following four are new to Ontario: Laphystia flavipes, Lasiopogon tetragrammus, Machimus novaescotiae, and Proctacanthella ca­copiloga

Revision of world Sphecomyia Latreille (Diptera, Syrphidae)

The 16 world species of Sphecomyia Latreille are revised, including seven previously undescribed species (S. cryptica Moran, sp. n., S. hoguei Moran, sp. n., S. interrupta Moran, sp. n., S. oraria Moran, sp. n., S. pseudosphecomima Moran, sp. n., S. sexfasciata Moran, sp. n., and S. weismani Moran, sp. n.). Descriptions, redescriptions, male genitalia photographs, distribution maps, and an illustrated key for all Sphecomyia are presented. DNA barcode data are provided for all 16 species with a cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene tree presented and discussed. Sphecomyia stat. rev. is redefined to represent the monophyletic lineage of species within subtribe Criorhinina possessing a bare, medial vitta extending ventrally from the oral margin in both sexes, a bare gena, a bare katepimeron, a scutellum with at least anterior margin densely pruinose, an anterior ventral half of vein C before crossvein h without setae, and a narrow intersection of vein R1 with vein C. Three species groups of Sphecomyia are identified: the S. vittata group which possess pruinose scutellar vittae, the S. pattonii group which lack pruinose scutellar vittae, and S. metallica (Bigot), a hairy bee mimic with a completely pruinose scutum. Criorhina tsherepanovi Violovitsh is resurrected and transferred, along with Criorhina aino Stackelberg, to the genus Sphecomyia: S. tsherepanovi (Violovitsh), comb. n. and S. aino (Stackelberg), comb. n. Criorhina metallica (Bigot) is designated as the senior synonym of C. lupina (Williston), not junior as improperly treated, and transferred to Sphecomyia: S. metallica (Bigot), comb. n. The species Sphecomyia fusca Weisman, S. nasica Osburn, and S. occidentalis Osburn are transferred to Criorhina Meigen: C. fusca (Weisman), comb. n., C. nasica (Osburn), comb. n., and C. occidentalis (Osburn), comb. n

Host range and prevalence of conopid flies (Diptera: Conopidae), parasitoids of Bombus spp. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Argentina

El ciclo vital de las moscas de la familia Conopidae (-conópidos-) requiere de una fase parasitoide que afecta generalmente a himenópteros uortopteroides. La prevalencia e identidad de conópidos asociados a abejorros (Bombus spp.) en Argentina soncasi desconocidas. Se prospectaron 2.897 abejorros desiete especies diferentes que fueron recolectados en nueve provincias, registrándose su presencia en cuatro huéspedesconun rango de prevalencia entre 1,8% y 31,2%. El análisis del gen COI fue exitoso en 18 muestras y permitió identificar a Physocephala nervosa ampliando su distribución a Córdoba, San Luis y Formosa, e incorporandoa B. bellicosus y B. opifex como especies huéspedes junto al previamente registrado B. pauloensis (= B. atratus).The life cycle of flies of the family Conopidae (-conopids-) requires a parasitoid stage that often affects hymenopterans as well as orthopoteroids. Both the identity and prevalence of conopidsharbored by bumblebees (Bombus spp.) in Argentina arealmost unknown. A total of 2,897 bumble bees belonging to seven species were collected from nine provinces in Argentina. Presence of conopids was registered in four hosts, with a prevalence range from 1.8% to 31.2%. Analysis of the COI gene was successful in 18 samples allowingthe identification of Physocephala nervosa, expanding its geographic distribution to the provinces of Córdoba, Formosa,and San Luis, as well asadding B. bellicosus and B. opifex as host species along with the previously recorded B. pauloensis (= B. atratus).Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de VectoresComisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la provincia de Buenos AiresConsejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnica

Host range and prevalence of conopid flies (Diptera: Conopidae), parasitoids of Bombus spp. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Argentina

El ciclo vital de las moscas de la familia Conopidae (-conópidos-) requiere de una fase parasitoide que afecta generalmente a himenópteros uortopteroides. La prevalencia e identidad de conópidos asociados a abejorros (Bombus spp.) en Argentina soncasi desconocidas. Se prospectaron 2.897 abejorros desiete especies diferentes que fueron recolectados en nueve provincias, registrándose su presencia en cuatro huéspedesconun rango de prevalencia entre 1,8% y 31,2%. El análisis del gen COI fue exitoso en 18 muestras y permitió identificar a Physocephala nervosa ampliando su distribución a Córdoba, San Luis y Formosa, e incorporandoa B. bellicosus y B. opifex como especies huéspedes junto al previamente registrado B. pauloensis (= B. atratus).The life cycle of flies of the family Conopidae (-conopids-) requires a parasitoid stage that often affects hymenopterans as well as orthopoteroids. Both the identity and prevalence of conopidsharbored by bumblebees (Bombus spp.) in Argentina arealmost unknown. A total of 2,897 bumble bees belonging to seven species were collected from nine provinces in Argentina. Presence of conopids was registered in four hosts, with a prevalence range from 1.8% to 31.2%. Analysis of the COI gene was successful in 18 samples allowingthe identification of Physocephala nervosa, expanding its geographic distribution to the provinces of Córdoba, Formosa,and San Luis, as well asadding B. bellicosus and B. opifex as host species along with the previously recorded B. pauloensis (= B. atratus).Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de VectoresComisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la provincia de Buenos AiresConsejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnica

Anchored enrichment dataset for true flies (order Diptera) reveals insights into the phylogeny of flower flies (family Syrphidae)

Background: Anchored hybrid enrichment is a form of next-generation sequencing that uses oligonucleotide probes to target conserved regions of the genome flanked by less conserved regions in order to acquire data useful for phylogenetic inference from a broad range of taxa. Once a probe kit is developed, anchored hybrid enrichment is superior to traditional PCR-based Sanger sequencing in terms of both the amount of genomic data that can be recovered and effective cost. Due to their incredibly diverse nature, importance as pollinators, and historical instability with regard to subfamilial and tribal classification, Syrphidae (flower flies or hoverflies) are an ideal candidate for anchored hybrid enrichment-based phylogenetics, especially since recent molecular phylogenies of the syrphids using only a few markers have resulted in highly unresolved topologies. Over 6200 syrphids are currently known and uncovering their phylogeny will help us to understand how these species have diversified, providing insight into an array of ecological processes, from the development of adult mimicry, the origin of adult migration, to pollination patterns and the evolution of larval resource utilization. Results: We present the first use of anchored hybrid enrichment in insect phylogenetics on a dataset containing 30 flower fly species from across all four subfamilies and 11 tribes out of 15. To produce a phylogenetic hypothesis, 559 loci were sampled to produce a final dataset containing 217,702 sites. We recovered a well resolved topology with bootstrap support values that were almost universally >95 %. The subfamily Eristalinae is recovered as paraphyletic, with the strongest support for this hypothesis to date. The ant predators in the Microdontinae are sister to all other syrphids. Syrphinae and Pipizinae are monophyletic and sister to each other. Larval predation on soft-bodied hemipterans evolved only once in this family. Conclusions: Anchored hybrid enrichment was successful in producing a robustly supported phylogenetic hypothesis for the syrphids. Subfamilial reconstruction is concordant with recent phylogenetic hypotheses, but with much higher support values. With the newly designed probe kit this analysis could be rapidly expanded with further sampling, opening the door to more comprehensive analyses targeting problem areas in syrphid phylogenetics and ecology.Peer reviewe

Species Boundaries and Host Range of Tortoise Mites (Uropodoidea) Phoretic on Bark Beetles (Scolytinae), Using Morphometric and Molecular Markers

Understanding the ecology and evolutionary history of symbionts and their hosts requires accurate taxonomic knowledge, including clear species boundaries and phylogenies. Tortoise mites (Mesostigmata: Uropodoidea) are among the most diverse arthropod associates of bark beetles (Curculionidae: Scolytinae), but their taxonomy and host associations are largely unstudied. We tested the hypotheses that (1) morphologically defined species are supported by molecular data, and that (2) bark beetle uropodoids with a broad host range comprise cryptic species. To do so, we assessed the species boundaries of uropodoid mites collected from 51 host species, across 11 countries and 103 sites, using morphometric data as well as partial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and nuclear large subunit ribosomal DNA (28S). Overall, morphologically defined species were confirmed by molecular datasets, with a few exceptions. Twenty-ni

A multigene phylogeny of the eristaline flower flies (Diptera : Syrphidae), with emphasis on the subtribe Criorhinina

We present the first multigene phylogeny focused on Eristalinae (Diptera: Syrphidae) utilizing a dataset containing 120 flower fly species from across all four subfamilies and representing 13 out of 16 tribes. Eight genes were used in the construction of the phylogeny: mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and the nuclear genes 28S ribosomal DNA, Alanylt RNA Synthetase, the carbamoyl phosphate synthase domain of CAD, Period, RNA-binding Protein 15 (RBP-15, 5'), Casein Kinase 1 and TULP for a total of similar to 6.7 kB of data. Eristalinae is recovered as paraphyletic with strong support for the elevation of Cerioidini, Merodontini and Volucellini to subfamilial status. Deineches, Flukea and Malometasternum render Criorhinina paraphyletic with respect to the type genus Criorhina. A clade with Criorhina, Matsumyia and Sphecomyia is strongly supported. The generic concept of Criorhina is paraphyletic, while Sphecomyia is monophyletic and Matsumyia is monophyletic but requires expansion. Evidence supports the resurrection of Romaleosyrphus and the creation of new genera. Criorhinina (stat. rev.) is restricted to contain Criorhina, Matsumyia, Romaleosyrphus and Sphecomyia. Thirteen changes to the higher classification of Syrphidae are proposed.Peer reviewe

Observations on Hilltopping in Thick-Headed Flies (Diptera: Conopidae)

Direct observations of hilltopping behaviour in the thick-headed flies (Diptera: Conopidae) have only been mentioned once in the literature. Hilltop collecting, however, may be an effective way to survey these endparasitoids. The first evidence of hilltopping in species belonging to the subfamilies Myopinae and Dalmanniinae is presented and discussed. Field observations were conducted on Colle Vescovo, Italy and Mount Rigaud, Canada, and museum specimens were examined. Observations and records indicate that four species in the genera Dalmannia, Myopa, and Zodion are hilltoppers on Colle Vescovo, while three species in the genera Myopa and Physocephala are hilltoppers on three hilltops near Ottawa, Canada. Fifteen additional species of conopids have been collected on hilltops and could possibly utilize hilltops in some years as a part of their mating strategy. Detailed phenologies and observations of mating and perching behaviours are given for species in the genera Dalmannia, Myopa, Physocephala, and Zodion. The importance of hilltop habitat preservation is stressed