Remarkable fly (Diptera) diversity in a patch of Costa Rican cloud forest : Why inventory is a vital science

Study of all flies (Diptera) collected for one year from a four-hectare (150 x 266 meter) patch of cloud forest at 1,600 meters above sea level at Zurqui de Moravia, San Jose Province, Costa Rica (hereafter referred to as Zurqui), revealed an astounding 4,332 species. This amounts to more than half the number of named species of flies for all of Central America. Specimens were collected with two Malaise traps running continuously and with a wide array of supplementary collecting methods for three days of each month. All morphospecies from all 73 families recorded were fully curated by technicians before submission to an international team of 59 taxonomic experts for identification. Overall, a Malaise trap on the forest edge captured 1,988 species or 51% of all collected dipteran taxa (other than of Phoridae, subsampled only from this and one other Malaise trap). A Malaise trap in the forest sampled 906 species. Of other sampling methods, the combination of four other Malaise traps and an intercept trap, aerial/hand collecting, 10 emergence traps, and four CDC light traps added the greatest number of species to our inventory. This complement of sampling methods was an effective combination for retrieving substantial numbers of species of Diptera. Comparison of select sampling methods (considering 3,487 species of non-phorid Diptera) provided further details regarding how many species were sampled by various methods. Comparison of species numbers from each of two permanent Malaise traps from Zurqui with those of single Malaise traps at each of Tapanti and Las Alturas, 40 and 180 km distant from Zurqui respectively, suggested significant species turnover. Comparison of the greater number of species collected in all traps from Zurqui did not markedly change the degree of similarity between the three sites, although the actual number of species shared did increase. Comparisons of the total number of named and unnamed species of Diptera from four hectares at Zurqui is equivalent to 51% of all flies named from Central America, greater than all the named fly fauna of Colombia, equivalent to 14% of named Neotropical species and equal to about 2.7% of all named Diptera worldwide. Clearly the number of species of Diptera in tropical regions has been severely underestimated and the actual number may surpass the number of species of Coleoptera. Various published extrapolations from limited data to estimate total numbers of species of larger taxonomic categories (e.g., Hexapoda, Arthropoda, Eukaryota, etc.) are highly questionable, and certainly will remain uncertain until we have more exhaustive surveys of all and diverse taxa (like Diptera) from multiple tropical sites. Morphological characterization of species in inventories provides identifications placed in the context of taxonomy, phylogeny, form, and ecology. DNA barcoding species is a valuable tool to estimate species numbers but used alone fails to provide a broader context for the species identified.Peer reviewe

Comprehensive inventory of true flies (Diptera) at a tropical site

Peer reviewe

Comprehensive inventory of true flies (Diptera) at a tropical site

Estimations of tropical insect diversity generally suffer from lack of known groups or faunas against which extrapolations can be made, and have seriously underestimated the diversity of some taxa. Here we report the intensive inventory of a four-hectare tropical cloud forest in Costa Rica for one year, which yielded 4332 species of Diptera, providing the first verifiable basis for diversity of a major group of insects at a single site in the tropics. In total 73 families were present, all of which were studied to the species level, providing potentially complete coverage of all families of the order likely to be present at the site. Even so, extrapolations based on our data indicate that with further sampling, the actual total for the site could be closer to 8000 species. Efforts to completely sample a site, although resource-intensive and time-consuming, are needed to better ground estimations of world biodiversity based on limited sampling

Fauna Europaea: Diptera -Brachycera

Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Pape, T., Beuk, P., Pont, A. C., Shatalkin, A. I., Ozerov, A. L., Woźnica, A. J., ... de Jong, Y. (2015). Fauna Europaea: 3, [e4187]. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.3.e4187 General rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. Abstract Fauna Europaea provides a public web-service with an index of scientific names (including important synonyms) of all extant multicellular European terrestrial and freshwater animals and their geographical distribution at the level of countries and major islands (east of the Urals and excluding the Caucasus region). The Fauna Europaea project comprises about 230,000 taxonomic names, including 130,000 accepted species and 14,000 accepted subspecies, which is much more than the originally projected number of 100,000 species. Fauna Europaea represents a huge effort by more than 400 contributing taxonomic specialists throughout Europe and is a unique (standard) reference suitable for many user communities in science, government, industry, nature conservation and education. The Diptera-Brachycera is one of the 58 Fauna Europaea major taxonomic groups, and data have been compiled by a network of 55 specialists. Within the two-winged insects (Diptera), the Brachycera constitute a monophyletic group, which is generally given rank of suborder. The Brachycera may be classified into the probably paraphyletic 'lower brachyceran grade' and the monophyletic Eremoneura. The latter contains the Empidoidea, the Apystomyioidea with a single Nearctic species, and the Cyclorrhapha, which in turn is divided into the paraphyletic 'aschizan grade' and the monophyletic Schizophora. The latter is traditionally divided into the paraphyletic 'acalyptrate grade' and the monophyletic Calyptratae. Our knowledge of the European fauna of Diptera-Brachycera varies tremendously among families, from the reasonably well known hoverflies (Syrphidae) to the extremely poorly known scuttle flies (Phoridae). There has been a steady growth in our knowledge of European Diptera for the last two centuries, with no apparent slow down, but there is a shift towards a larger fraction of the new species being found among the families of the nematoceran grade (lower Diptera), which due to a larger number of small-sized species may be considered as taxonomically more challenging. Most of Europe is highly industrialised and has a high human population density, and the more fertile habitats are extensively cultivated. This has undoubtedly increased the extinction risk for numerous species of brachyceran flies, yet with the recent re-discovery of Thyreophora cynophila (Panzer), there are no known cases of extinction at a European level. However, few national Red Lists have extensive information on Diptera. For the Diptera-Brachycera, data from 96 families containing 11,751 species are included in this paper

Myopites shirakii (Munro, 1935)

Munro (1935) described <i>Euribia </i>(<i>Asimoneura</i>) <i>shirakii </i>from Taiwan based on a single female, without an illustration.<br>Since then, it has not been re-examined or redescribed, so Norrbom et al. (1999), Freidberg & Norrbom (1999) and Korneyev & Ovchinnikova (2004) assigned it to the genus <i>Asimoneura </i>Strobl based on the combination of the long labellum and widely opened cell r4+5 as described by Munro.<div>In 2012, I had an opportunity to study the holotype briefly and photographed it by a compact digital camera through the eyepiece of a dissecting microscope. Despite the poor quality, the picture clearly show the head shape and body coloration more typical to <i>Myopites </i>and <i>Rhynencina,</i> but the wing pattern is entirely lacking, as in the Afrotropical <i>M. delottoi</i> Munro, 1955. It certainly does not belong therefore to <i>Asimoneura</i> (which always have short oral cavity and entirely black body) and apparently forms a sister-group to the Afrotropical and Mediterranean species of the genus <i>Myopites</i>, which possess apically narrowed cell r4+5, but in my opinion, can be included in <i>Myopites</i>.</div><div>The male of <i>M. shirakii </i>remains unknown, and the key characters separating it from <i>Rhynencina </i>and <i>Stamnophora </i>remain unknown. Freidberg & Norrbom (1999) reported about several undescribed Afrotropical species of <i>Myopites </i>and <i>Stamnophora</i>, which<i> </i>show odd combination of key characters; the limits and diagnoses of those genera apparently need further clarification after more detailed description of all members and phylogenetic analysis based on molecular data.</div><div><div><br></div><div>Freidberg, A. & Norrbom, A. L. 1999. <i>In:</i> M. Aluja, and A.L.Norrbom, eds. <i>Fruit Flies (Tephritidae): Phylogeny and Evolution of Behavior</i>. CRC Press, Boca Raton: 581-627.</div><div><div><br></div><div>Norrbom, A. L., Carroll L. E., Thompson F. C., White I. M., Freidberg A. 1999. Systematic database of names. <i>In</i>: F.C.Thompson, ed. Fruit Fly <i>Expert System and Systematic Information Database</i>. <i>Myia</i>, <b>9</b>(1998)<b>, </b>Backhuis Publishers, Leiden: 65—299.</div></div><div> </div><div>Munro, H. K. 1935. Observations and comments on the Trypetidae of Formosa. <i>Arb. Physiol. Angew. Entomol. Berlin-Dahlem</i> 2: 195-203, 253-271.</div></div

Poorly known European species of the genus Noeeta Robineau-Desvoidy 1830. 2. Noeeta bisetosa Merz, 1992 (Diptera: Tephritidae)

<p>I.I.Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology,<br>National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.<br>Bogdan Chmielnicki St. 15<br>01030 Kyiv Ukraine</p> <p>The Palaearctic genus <em>Noeeta</em> belongs to the tribe <strong>Noeetini</strong> Norrbom & Korneyev 1999; larvae of all members of the tribe, as far as known, feed in the flower heads of either Lactuca or HIeracium spp. and are widespread in the Holarctics. Noeeta includes 7 nominal species occurring in the Palaearctic Region. Validity of some of them is doubtful. The most common <em>Noeeta pupillata</em> (Fallén 1814) is widespread throughout the Palaearctic Region and is reported to be associated with many species of <em>Hieracium</em>; status of populations associated with various hosts needs detailed study.</p> <p>However, even the species usually considered valid and included in the keys (Richter 1970: Keys to Insects of the European Territory of the USSR) have not been properly illustrated. This series of photographs is to be fill this gap.</p> <p>Noeeta bisetosa is known by far from a few localities throughout Europe. This species can be recognized from the pair of additional presutural setae on mesonotum (shown by the yellow arrows).</p> <p>Host: <em>Hieracium piloselloides </em>(Merz, 1992).</p> <p>It is believed that publication of these photographs will promote further findings of this rare species.</p> <p> </p

Additional Images of Iranian Hypenidium (Diptera: Tephritidae: Noeetini) in Prague National Museum

<p>The genus <em>Hypenidium </em>Loew 1862 (type species <em>Hypenidium graecum</em> Loew 1862) occurs in the Mediterranean Region (<em>H. graecum</em>), Central Asia and Near East. Of them, <em>H. oculatum</em> (Becker 1908) and <em>H. roborowskii</em> (Becker 1913) are known to occur in Iran. Both species are not common in collection, and additional information on them is interesting.</p> <p>The genus has been reviewed recently (Korneyev, Gharali & Rakhshani 2011), and the four specimens from the collection of the National Museum Prague have been mentioned in that paper. In August 2014, while visiting the collection (at that time in Praha-Kunratice), through the kindness of Michal Tkoč, I have examined the specimens collected by the Czech and Iranian expedition in 1960s and took pictures of the four specimens of <em>H. roborowskii </em>and <em>H. oculatum</em> with an old Nikon Coolpix 5200 camera through the eyepiece of microscope. </p> <p>Despite the poor quality of these pictures, they demonstrate certain variability of the body and wing pattern of those species.<br> </p

Chetostoma stackelbergi (Diptera: Tephritidae) from Bavaria

<p>The genus <em>Chetostoma</em> Rondani 1856 belongs in the subtribe Chetostomatina (Trypetini) along with <em>Anomoia</em>, <em>Myoleja</em>, and several other genera mainly developing in the fleshy fruits of <em>Lonicera, Cotoneaster, </em><em>Ilex </em>and some other plants. The genus includes about a dozen of species occurring in the Palaearctic, Nearctic and Oriental Regions. Larvae of at least one species, <em>C. continuans</em> (Chen 1938) from the Palaearctic Far East live in the fruits of <em>Lonicera</em>, whereas the others are believed to be inquillines in the galls of sawflies. In Europe, along with the most peculiar type species of the genus, <em>C. curvinerve</em> Rondani 1856, which occurs predominantly in the Mediterranean contries from Portugal to Israel and further to Kyrghyzstan and Uzbekistan, a less known species, <em>V. stackelbergi</em> (Rohdendorf) occurs mainly in the North and Middle Europe (Merz & Korneyev 2004: FaunaEuropaea).</p> <p>Through the kindness of Dieter Doczkal (ZSS Munich), ♂ & ♀ of <em>C. stackelbergi </em>collected in Bavaria (Inning, Schlagenhodfen, at light, 3.viii.2006, K.Ambil leg.) have become available for study. I appreciate assistance of Bernhard Schurian (Leibnitz Museum fur Naturkunde, Berlin) for the photo facilieties used to prepare the pictures of this rare species.  </p

FIGURES 14a–d in Revision of the Old World species of the genus Tephritis (Diptera, Tephritidae) with a pair of isolated apical spots

FIGURES 14a–d. Tephritis ghissarica new species: a—habitus ♀—b—abdomen, dorsal view; c–d—wing. Scale bar = 1 mm

A "Giant" Ensina from Brasil (Diptera: Tephritidae)

<p>The genus <em>Ensina</em> Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 currently includes 6 species, of them <em>E. sonchi </em>(Linnaeus 1767) is widespread throughout the Palaearctic Region (Norrbom et al. 1999); its larvae feed greagariously in the flower heads of various asteraceous plants of the tribe Cychorieae. The other 5 species occur locally in South America (<em>E. longiceps </em>(Hendel 1914) from Peru, Bolivia and Argentina; <em>E. brevior</em> (Hennig 1940) and <em>E. hyalipennis</em> (Hennig 1940), both from Cuzco, Peru) or are endemics of Atlantic Islands (<em>E. azorica</em> Frey 1945 from Azores Is. and <em>E. decisa </em>Wollaston 1858 from Madeira); neither comprehensive taxonomic revisions, nor information on the host planta of the five species other than <em>E. sonchi</em> are available.</p> <p>Most species of  <em>Ensina </em>have moderately elongate head with three frontal and one orbital setae, but the South American <em>E. longiceps </em>has extremely long head and originally was described in a monotypic genus <em>Protensina</em>; all known species are moderately small, with wing 3-5 mm long and bearing pale, moderately (to entirely) reduced reticulate wing pattern.</p> <p>While rearranging the historical collection of the Tephritidae in the Museum fuer Naturkunde, Berlin, I found a single male of an <em>Ensina</em> with extremely long head and mouthparts and reticulate pale yellow wing pattern, which differs from all known species of the genus by its large size (body length 8.4 mm, wing length 6.5 mm), which apparently belongs to a new undescribed species (V. Korneyev, in prep.).</p> <p>One male with labels "N. Granad. / v. Nolken" (green paper, Loew's handwriting) and "coll. / H.Loew) in MFNB collection.</p