NOTES ON AN INJURIOUS SAW-FLY LARVA

A fly larva (Syrphidae: Ocyptamus) that preys on adult flies.

Predatory syrphid larvae feed on relatively immobile prey, but here we report the first case (as far as we are aware) of obligatory predation on very mobile prey. Larvae of an undescribed species of Ocyptamus (Diptera: Syrphidae) were found in whitefly (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) aggregations on the undersides of citrus leaves. However, instead of preying on the whitefly nymphs (as would be expect...

On the Males and an Intersex-like Specimen of the Parthenogenetic Saw-fly Pristiphora Pallipes, Lep.*

WHILST conducting biological experiments on parthenogenesis in saw-flies, during the year 1923, the writer obtained two males and an intersex-like specimen of the species Pristiphora pallipes, Lep., under somewhat peculiar circumstances. As this species appears almost completely thelytokous—the males being exceedingly rare—and as sexual abnormalities in it have never been observed before, and i...

Extreme adaptations for aquatic ectoparasitism in a Jurassic fly larva

The reconstruction of ancient insect ectoparasitism is challenging, mostly because of the extreme scarcity of fossils with obvious ectoparasitic features such as sucking-piercing mouthparts and specialized attachment organs. Here we describe a bizarre fly larva (Diptera), Qiyia jurassica gen. et sp. nov., from the Jurassic of China, that represents a stem group of the tabanomorph family Atheric...

Ophthalmomyiasis caused by the reindeer warble fly larva.

Two boys with ophthalmomyiasis caused by the first instar larva of the reindeer warble fly Hypoderma tarandi are reported. Both were 9 years old and came from the coast of northern Norway. One had ophthalmomyiasis interna posterior and one eye had been removed because of progressive pain and blindness. Histological examination showed the remains of a fly larva. The second boy had ophthalmomyias...

The composition of horse bot fly (Gastrophilus intestinalis) larva blood.