Parasyrphus nigritarsis

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Parasyrphus nigritarsis
Parasyrphus nigritarsus consuming phratora vitellinae larva
Larva of Parasyrphus nigritarsus (l.) eating Phratora vitellinae larva (r.)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Syrphidae
Genus: Parasyrphus
Species:
P. nigritarsis
Binomial name
Parasyrphus nigritarsis
(Zetterstedt, 1843)
Synonyms[1]

Scaeva nigritarsis Zetterstedt, 1843

Parasyrphus nigritarsis is a species of hoverfly, from the family Syrphidae, in the order Diptera.[1][2] It is known from northern Europe and North America,[3][4] and has been considered to be a rare species in parts of its range.[5] Adults visit flowers as a source of nutrition,[6] and females lay their eggs on clutches of eggs of leaf beetles (family Chrysomelidae).[7] When the Parasyrphus larvae hatch, they first consume leaf beetle eggs and then consume immature beetles until they reach the pupal stage.[8][9][10] This species is related to hoverflies that prey on aphids as larvae,[11][12] and has been investigated in studies of chemical ecology[7][13][14][15][16] and food web ecology.[17][18]

Egg of P. nigritarsus (top, pale) on egg clutch of P. vitellinae (yellow)
Egg of P. nigritarsus (top, pale) on egg clutch of P. vitellinae (yellow)

Distribution and habitat[edit]

In Eurasia, P. nigritarsus occurs in the Nordic countries, south to Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and northern Spain, Ireland east through Central Europe into Russia and on to the Russian Far East and Japan.[3] In North America, it occurs from Alaska to Quebec and south to Washington and Idaho.[19] Thus, P. nigritarsus is considered to be present throughout the Northern Hemisphere and it is one of several syrphid species included in the 'Barcode of Life Data System,[20] a project focusing on species occurring in Canada that includes taxonomic information, metadata, and DNA sequences for several individuals at the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase gene.[21] The flies tend to live in woodland and wetland populated by Alnus,[22] Salix,[23] Populus tremula and Alnus viridis scrub up to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) in the Alps.[24] Flowers visited by adults include Anemone nemorosa, Potentilla erecta, Prunus cerasus, Prunus spinosus, Ranunculus, Rhododendron aureum, Rubus idaeus, Salix.[6]

Description[edit]

Eggs of P. nigritarsus are white and are smaller than the eggs of their leaf beetle prey (see photo). In the larval stage, mature P. nigritarsus individuals (third instar) are 14–16mm long and approximately 3mm in diameter. Larvae have two pairs of lobes at the anal segment and a complex color pattern with triangular yellow markings on abdominal segments and thin dark brown stripes anterior to them.[5] Adults are medium-sized flies whose legs have pale intermediate segments (femur, tibia) and dark terminal segments (tarsi). They are somewhat unusual among Parasyrphus species in appearance and behavior.[22] Adult wing length ranges from 9-11.5mm. The abdomen is striped and the fly superficially resembles a bee.[20] Abdominal tergites 3 and 4 have a marginal sulcus. The face lacks a black stripe, but has a black edge to the mouth. The frons in females has large dust patches. Consult DipteraMorphology page for definitions of specialized terms describing adult fly morphology. Biological keys to identify adults and larvae are available.[25][26][27][28]

Biology and prey use[edit]

Parasyrphus nigritarsus has been implicated as a major natural enemy of leaf beetles in the subfamily Chrysomelinae within the Chrysomelidae.[16] These leaf beetles lay multiple clutches of 10-30 eggs on host plants in early summer. All beetle species that have been documented as prey to P. nigritarsus or its North American relative Parasyrphus melanderi possess external defensive secretion glands as larvae, from which they evert volatile secretions that are presumed to be repellent to potential predators.[16] Yet female P. nigritarsus lay their eggs adjacent to or among the beetle eggs, and the fly larvae hatch before the beetles do, indicating that they are closely adapted to the life cycle of their prey. When beetle population densities are high, fly abundance also increases and this can be measured by counting the number of fly eggs laid on each beetle clutch.[14][9] Most likely, when predator abundance is relatively high, fly females lay eggs on beetle clutches where a prior fly female had already laid her eggs, as was observed for Parasyrphus melanderi in California.[29]

Once the fly eggs hatch, they first consume beetle eggs, and then consume larvae.[30] The beetle defensive secretion does not repel flies. On the contrary, fly larvae are attracted to the odor of beetle larval defensive secretions, regardless of whether the beetle secretion is primarily derived from the host plant or an autogeneously synthesized secretion.[13] Mature fly larvae grasp the prey larva beneath its head and appear to inject a toxin that immobilizes the prey before sucking out its internal tissues.[10][5] At the population level, these specialist predators are considered voracious and have significant impacts on beetle mortality.[9][16] They are known to feed on Chrysomela vigintipunctata,[8][31][27] Chrysomela lapponica,[15][18] Chrysomela populi,[32] Plagiosterna aenea,[14][5][8] Phratora vulgatissima,[33] and Phratora vitellinae[7] in Europe and on Chrysomela crotchi in North America.[34] Other investigators of beetle population dynamics have noted the presence of a syrphid with very similar behaviors feeding on dock beetles Gastrophysa viridula in the United Kingdom,[35] and similar behaviors have been observed for Parasyrphus melanderi feeding on Chrysomela aeneicollis in California.[29]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Chandler, Peter J. (1998). Checklists of Insects of the British Isles (New Series) Part 1: Diptera. Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects. Vol. 12. London: Royal Entomological Society of London. pp. 1–234. ISBN 0-901546-82-8.
  2. ^ Stubbs, Alan E. & Falk, Steven J. (1983). British Hoverflies: An Illustrated Identification Guide. British Entomological & Natural History Society. pp. 253, xvpp.
  3. ^ a b Soos, A.; Papp, L.; Soos, A.; Papp, L. (1988). Volume 8: Syrphidae-Conopidae. Catalogue of Palaearctic Diptera. Vol. 8. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
  4. ^ Vezsenyi, K. A.; Beresford, D. V.; Moran, K.; Young, A. D.; Locke, M. M.; Crins, W. J.; Schaefer, J. A.; Skevington, Jeffrey H. (2021). "Distribution of Syrphidae (Diptera) across northern Ontario". The Canadian Entomologist. 153 (2): 181–195. doi:10.4039/tce.2020.68. ISSN 0008-347X. S2CID 230610037.
  5. ^ a b c d Rotheray, G. E. (1997). "Larval stages of the predatory hoverflies Trichopsomyia flavitarsis (Meigen), platycheirus melanopsis Loew and Parasyrphus nigritarsis (Zetterstedt) (Diptera: Syrphidae)". Entomologist's Gazette. 48 (2): 127–134.
  6. ^ a b de Buck, N. (1990). "Bloembezoek en bestuivingsecologie van Zweefvliegen (Diptera, Syrphidae) in het bijzonder voor België". Doc. Trav. IRSNB, no. 60, pp. 1-167.
  7. ^ a b c Rank, Nathan E; Köpf, Alfred; Julkunen-Tiitto, Riitta; Tahvanainen, Jorma (1998). "Host preference and larval performance of the salicylate-using leaf beetle Phratora vitellinae". Ecology. 79 (2): 618–631. doi:10.1890/0012-9658(1998)079[0618:HPALPO]2.0.CO;2.
  8. ^ a b c Schneider, F. (1953). "Syrphus nigritarsis Zett. Ein Ei- und Larvenräuber von Melasoma (Chrysom., Col.)". Tijdschrift over Plantenziekten. 59: 192–194.
  9. ^ a b c Kanervo, V. (1946). "Tutkimuksia lepän lehtikuoriaisen, Melasoma aenea L. (Col., Chrysomelidae), luontaisista vihollisista. (Ref.: Studien über die natürlichen Feinde des Erlenblattkäfers, Melasoma aenea L. (Col., Chrysomelidae)". Annales Zoologici Societatis Zoologicae Botanicae Fennicae "Vanamo". 12 (3): 1–202.
  10. ^ a b Keller, C. (1917). "Zur Biologie von Chrysomela aenea L. und Coleophora fuscedinella Zell". Vierteljahrsschrift der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Zürich. 62: 103–124.
  11. ^ Rotheray, G. E.; Gilbert, F. S. (1989). "The phylogeny and systematics of European predacious Syrphidae (Diptera) based on larval and puparial stages". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 95: 29–70. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1989.tb02222.x.
  12. ^ Mengual, Ximo; Ståhls, Gunilla; Rojo, Santos (2008). "First phylogeny of predatory flower flies (Diptera, Syrphidae, Syrphinae) using mitochondrial COI and nuclear 28S rRNA genes: conflict and congruence with the current tribal classification". Cladistics. 24 (4): 543–562. doi:10.1111/j.1096-0031.2008.00200.x. hdl:10045/12249. ISSN 0748-3007. PMID 34879632. S2CID 85348839.
  13. ^ a b Köpf, A.; Rank, N.; Roininen, H.; Tahvanainen, J. (1997). "Defensive larval secretions of leaf beetles attract a specialist predator Parasyrphus nigritarsis". Ecological Entomology. 22 (2): 176–183. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2311.1997.t01-1-00061.x. S2CID 83877801.
  14. ^ a b c Baur, R.; Rank, N. E. (1996). "Influence of host quality and natural enemies on the life history of the alder leaf beetles Agelastica alni and Linaeidea aenea". In P. H. Jolivet, M. L. Cox (ed.). Chrysomelidae Biology. Vol. 2: Ecological Studies. Amsterdam: SPB Publishing. pp. 173–194.
  15. ^ a b Gross, J.; Fatouros, N. E.; Neuvonen, S.; Hilker, M. (2004). "The importance of specialist natural enemies for Chrysomela lapponica in pioneering a new host plant". Ecological Entomology. 29 (5): 584–593. doi:10.1111/j.0307-6946.2004.00632.x. ISSN 0307-6946. S2CID 85321202.
  16. ^ a b c d Rank, N. E.; Smiley, J. T.; Köpf, A. (1996). "Natural enemies and host plant relationships for chrysomeline leaf beetles feeding on Salicaceae". In P. H. Jolivet, M. L. Cox (ed.). Chrysomelidae Biology. Vol. 2: Ecological Studies. Amsterdam: SPB Publishing. pp. 147–171.
  17. ^ Zvereva, E. L.; Kozlov, M. V. (2000). "Effects of air pollution on natural enemies of the leaf beetle Melasoma lapponica". Journal of Applied Ecology. 37 (2): 298–308. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2664.2000.00492.x.
  18. ^ a b Zvereva, E. L.; Kruglova, O. Y.; Kozlov, M. V. (2010). "Drivers of host plant shifts in the leaf beetle Chrysomela lapponica: natural enemies or competition?". Ecological Entomology. 35 (5): 611–622. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2311.2010.01220.x. S2CID 56040676.
  19. ^ Vockeroth, John Richard (1992). The flower flies of the subfamily Syrphinae of Canada, Alaska, and Greenland: Diptera, Syrphidae. Vol. 1867. Agriculture Canada. ISBN 0-660-13830-1.
  20. ^ a b "TAXONOMY BROWSER: Parasyrphus nigritarsis". www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Taxbrowser_Taxonpage. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  21. ^ "Parasyrphus nigritarsis voucher BIOUG04174-E06 cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene". Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  22. ^ a b "Parasyrphus (forest syrphs)". Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  23. ^ Ostaff, D. P.; Mosseler, A.; Johns, R. C.; Javorek, S.; Klymko, J.; Ascher, J. S. (2015). "Willows (Salix spp.) as pollen and nectar sources for sustaining fruit and berry pollinating insects". Canadian Journal of Plant Science. 95 (3): 505–516. doi:10.4141/cjps-2014-339. ISSN 0008-4220.
  24. ^ Speight, M. C. D. (2011). "Species accounts of European Syrphidae (Diptera), Glasgow 2011" (PDF). Syrph the Net, the Database of European Syrphidae. 65: 285.
  25. ^ "Handbook of British Insects. Diptera: Syrphidae" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  26. ^ Steyskal, George C. (1988). Diptera and Siphonaptera, Part I. Keys to the insects of the European part of the USSR. Vol. 5. Brill Archive. ISBN 90-04-09026-6.
  27. ^ a b Van Veen, Mark P. (2010). Hoverflies of Northwest Europe: identification keys to the Syrphidae. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-27449-5.
  28. ^ Láska, Pavel; Mazánek, Libor; Bicík, Vítezslav (2013). "Key to adults and larvae of the genera of European Syrphinae (Diptera, Syrphidae)". Acta Musei Silesiae, Scientiae Naturales. 62 (3): 193. ISSN 2336-3193.
  29. ^ a b Rank, N. E.; Smiley, J. T. (1994). "Host-plant effects on Parasyrphus melanderi Curran (Diptera: Syrphidae) feeding on a willow leaf beetle Chrysomela aeneicollis Schaeffer (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)". Ecological Entomology. 19: 31–38. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2311.1994.tb00387.x. S2CID 85082871.
  30. ^ "Parasyrphus nigritarsis as important antagonist of Chrysomela populi". YouTube. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  31. ^ Topp, W.; Bell, D. (1992). "Melasoma vigintipunctata (Scop.) - ein Weidenblattkäfer mit Massenvermehrung". Faunistisch-Ökologische Mitteilungen. 6 (7/8): 267–286.
  32. ^ Georgi, Richard; Müller, Michael (2015). "Biotic risk factors in short rotation coppice in Germany: current situation, new findings and future perspectives". In Manning, David Butler; Albrecht Bemmann; Christian Bredemeier; Michael Lamersdorf; Norbert Ammer (eds.). Bioenergy from Dendromass for the Sustainable Development of Rural Areas. Wiley Online Library. pp. 199–216. doi:10.1002/9783527682973.ch16. ISBN 978-3-527-33764-4.
  33. ^ Björkman, C.; Johansson, H.; Snäll, T. (2011). "Spatial distribution of interacting insect predators: Possible roles of intraguild predation and the surrounding habitat". Basic and Applied Ecology. 12 (6): 516–522. doi:10.1016/j.baae.2011.07.006.
  34. ^ Elliott, K. R.; Wong, H. R. (1966). "An important predator of the aspen leaf beetle, Chrysomela crotchi Brown, in Manitoba and Saskatchewan". Bi-monthly Research Notes, Forestry Service, Canada. 22 (5): 3–4.
  35. ^ Whittaker, J. B.; Ellistone, J.; Patrick, C. K. (1979). "The dynamics of a chrysomelid beetle, Gastrophysa viridula, in a hazardous natural habitat". Journal of Animal Ecology. 48 (3): 973–986. doi:10.2307/4208. JSTOR 4208.

Further reading[edit]

Rotheray, G. E. (1986). "Colour, shape and defence in aphidophagous syrphid larvae (Diptera)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 88 (3): 201–206. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1986.tb01188.x.

Habitat for P. nigritarsus in Germany. Grove of Populus tremula
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