Hilltopping by Palpada mexicana (Diptera: Syrphidae)

Alcock, John

doi:10.1894/f07-jc-40.1

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Hilltopping is a mate-finding strategy encountered in many insect families (Skevington 2008). This interesting behaviour is very common in Syrphidae but has received little attention so far in literature (Waldbauer 1990;Schmid 1999;Alcock 2011). In the Alpine environment with many pronounced hilltops, hilltopping is probably a common phenomenon, and it can be expected that some rare species may be more easily found this way, as they concentrate around hilltops (Skevington 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Description of the female of Platycheirus altomontis Merlin & Nielsen in Nielsen, 2004 (Diptera, Syrphidae) with notes on the occurrence and hilltopping behaviour of rare French montane and Alpine Syrphidae

Meutter¹

2022

AlpEnt

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A focused search in very high (2500–3200 m asl) Alpine mountain tops in France resulted in the discovery of the very rare Alpine-endemic syrphid Platycheirus altomontis Merlin & Nielsen in Nielsen, 2004, including its hitherto unknown female. A description of the female is given and further complemented with behavioural observations of this species with special reference to hilltopping. Additional records and behavioural observations are provided for rare and new species for the French fauna from the montane and Alpine habitat with focus on species of high altitude (>2750 m) and hilltopping behaviour. The species Rohdendorfia alpina Sack 1938 is new to France and was observed in large numbers at scree slopes above 2750 m and males were found sitting at hilltops up to 3200 m. Hilltopping behaviour of Syrphidae was observed over the whole altitudinal range visited, and multiple species engaged in this behaviour even at above 3000 m. Hilltopping appears to be more common in some genera (e.g. Parasyrphus and Pipizella) than in others and may be linked to specific phenotypes in some species. The latter was observed for the species Cheilosia melanura (Becker, 1894) of which at high hilltops much smaller males were found than at lower altitudes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Description of the female of Platycheirus altomontis Merlin & Nielsen in Nielsen, 2004 (Diptera, Syrphidae) with notes on the occurrence and hilltopping behaviour of rare French montane and Alpine Syrphidae

Meutter¹

2022

AlpEnt

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“…Furthermore, fecundity in captive populations appears to be significantly lower than in wild populations (Asencio 2013). Despite limited availability of published knowledge on the mating behaviours of E. tenax in captivity, it is known that a degree of territoriality exists among males in the field (Alcock 2011; Fitzpatrick & Wellington 1983; Wellington & Fitzpatrick 1981); and that there is a long period of 20 days post eclosion for female ovaries to mature and produce fertile eggs (Asencio 2013). Furthermore, based on comparisons of consecutive broods from individual females and observation of mating behaviours, it is suggested that females only mate once in their lifetime (Heal 1979).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward optimising reproductive output of Eristalis tenax (Diptera: Syrphidae) for commercial mass rearing systems

Upchurch,

Spurr,

Quarrell

et al. 2023

Austral Entomology

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Developing mass rearing systems for the drone fly, Eristalis tenax, is a crucial step toward its use as a complementary commercial pollinator. To meet the timing of commercial needs for E. tenax, there is significant value to both predicting and managing reproductive output and development within the rearing protocol. To help achieve this, our study focuses on the laboratory manipulation of adult mating and the timing of the development of eggs in E. tenax. To stagger colony cohorts, egg rearing temperatures ranging from 12 to 30°C were found to be suitable for both successful egg development and hatching viability (97 to 28.3 h to first hatch, respectively). The mating window for E. tenax females was established to commence from 2 weeks post eclosion and reached 75 ± 11% mated at 7 weeks. Reproductive output over 12 weeks was assessed in separate cage manipulation trials: (1) varying the sex ratio with 20:40, 30:30 and 40:20 female and male flies respectively per cage and (2) varying the adult density per cage with 15:15, 30:30, 60:60 and 120:120 female and male flies per cage. Female percentage mated and egg cluster size, which averaged 200.6 ± 4.3 eggs per cluster, did not change between treatments in the sex ratio and density trials. Egg cluster output per female was significantly reduced for treatments across both trials, which had more than 30 females in a cage. A stocking rate of 15:15 produced 86% more eggs per female than expected, a percentage well above that of all other treatments. However, the highest stocking density produced the most eggs when assessed at a per cage level. Fly survival was significantly different between the sexes across both trials with males dying earlier in cages stocked with more females than males. Although the fly colonies were held at constant temperatures and light conditions for 6 months, we found evidence of endogenous overwintering behaviours among flies resulting in lower mating rates, egg hatching success and greater longevity among flies studied over winter.

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A comprehensive review of long‐distance hover fly migration (Diptera: Syrphidae)

Reynolds,

Clem,

Fitz‐Gerald

et al. 2024

Ecological Entomology

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Hover flies (Diptera: Syrphidae) are a group of insects containing many migratory species that provide critical ecosystem services including pollination, decomposition and biological control. Their migratory behaviour remains largely overlooked and unacknowledged, but an influx of contemporary research is beginning to shift this. The goal of this review is to summarise and synthesise the past 150+ years of global hover fly migration research from over 50 papers in multiple languages. Here, we provide comprehensive evidence for hover fly migration through the lens of the methodologies used for studying these phenomena, the biological mechanisms for migration and the associated ecological and economic impacts. We also include an inventory of all recognised migratory species and discuss taxonomic patterns. In total, we compiled accounts of 46 species that are considered migratory, most of which were sourced from Europe. Recent reports, however, have also described hover fly migration in North America, Asia, the Middle East and Australia. Approximately 70% of these species are from the subfamily Syrphinae, which are important biological control agents. The migratory behaviour of hover flies has substantial impacts on ecosystem services and may be linked to long‐distance gene flow for many angiosperms via pollen transportation. These insects are also likely redistributing biological control services at a continental scale on an annual basis, which has major repercussions for the management of crop pests such as aphids. The sensitivity of hover fly migration to anthropogenic impacts is not well known, but shifting climatic conditions, pollution and increased habitat fragmentation are likely impactful and should be further explored. Despite recent advances and increased interest in the subject, hover fly migration remains understudied and many major knowledge gaps continue to persist.

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Hilltopping by Palpada mexicana (Diptera: Syrphidae)

Cited by 3 publications

References 19 publications

Description of the female of Platycheirus altomontis Merlin & Nielsen in Nielsen, 2004 (Diptera, Syrphidae) with notes on the occurrence and hilltopping behaviour of rare French montane and Alpine Syrphidae

Description of the female of Platycheirus altomontis Merlin & Nielsen in Nielsen, 2004 (Diptera, Syrphidae) with notes on the occurrence and hilltopping behaviour of rare French montane and Alpine Syrphidae

Toward optimising reproductive output of Eristalis tenax (Diptera: Syrphidae) for commercial mass rearing systems

A comprehensive review of long‐distance hover fly migration (Diptera: Syrphidae)

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Hilltopping by Palpada mexicana (Diptera: Syrphidae)

Cited by 3 publications

References 19 publications

﻿Description of the female of Platycheirus altomontis Merlin &amp; Nielsen in Nielsen, 2004 (Diptera, Syrphidae) with notes on the occurrence and hilltopping behaviour of rare French montane and Alpine Syrphidae

﻿Description of the female of Platycheirus altomontis Merlin &amp; Nielsen in Nielsen, 2004 (Diptera, Syrphidae) with notes on the occurrence and hilltopping behaviour of rare French montane and Alpine Syrphidae

Toward optimising reproductive output of Eristalis tenax (Diptera: Syrphidae) for commercial mass rearing systems

A comprehensive review of long‐distance hover fly migration (Diptera: Syrphidae)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Description of the female of Platycheirus altomontis Merlin & Nielsen in Nielsen, 2004 (Diptera, Syrphidae) with notes on the occurrence and hilltopping behaviour of rare French montane and Alpine Syrphidae

Description of the female of Platycheirus altomontis Merlin & Nielsen in Nielsen, 2004 (Diptera, Syrphidae) with notes on the occurrence and hilltopping behaviour of rare French montane and Alpine Syrphidae