Parasitism of Soldiers of the Termite, Macrotermes gilvus (Hagen), by the Scuttle Fly, Megaselia scalaris (Loew) (Diptera: Phoridae)

Abstract

Termites of the genus Macrotermes (Termitidae: Macrotermitinae) are serious agricultural and structural pests, which also play vital roles in ecosystem functioning, and are crucial for the maintenance of tropical biodiversity. They are widely distributed, mainly in Southeast Asian countries; however, the parasitism of termites has been little researched. This research was conducted to identify and study the ecology of the parasitoids of termites at Kasetsart University, Kamphaeng Saen Campus, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand. Macrotermes gilvus (Hagen) soldier termites were collected from 25 mounds. In four of the 25 mounds, scuttle fly larvae were found inside the bodies of the soldier termites, and adult flies were found in all of the mounds. Some of the larvae successfully developed to pupae under laboratory conditions. The percentages of parasitized major soldier termites collected from the four mounds were 43.79%, 47.43%, 0.86%, and 3.49%, respectively, and the percentages of parasitized minor soldier termites were 0.64%, 0.00%, 0.21%, and 0.00%, respectively. Larvae, pupae, and adult flies were identified using both morphological and molecular identifications. Molecular identification used the partial nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene. The results of both identification methods identified the parasitic Diptera as the scuttle fly, Megaselia scalaris (Loew) (Diptera: Phoridae). The phylogenetic analysis of the 23 scuttle fly samples (11 larvae, 7 pupae, and 5 adults) classified them into two clades: (1) Those closely related to a previous report in India; (2) those related to M. scalaris found in Asia and Africa. This is the first discovery of M. scalaris in M. gilvus. Further investgation into termite parasitism by M. scalaris and its possible use in the biological control of termites is needed.

The Scuttle Fly, Megaselia scalaris (Loew, 1866) (Diptera: Phoridae): A New Threat on Laboratory Mass Production of Fruit Flies

“…Infestation rate was highest in May and lowest in January. Noknoy et al (2020), in Thailand, found scuttle fly larvae which genetically and morphologically identified later after emergence as M. scalaris inside bodies of soldier termites Macrotermes gilvus. Sabo et al (2020) detected Megaselia spp.…”

Native parasitoids of the fall webworm, Hyphantria cunea (Drury, 1773) (Lepidoptera, Erebidae), an invasive alien pest in northern Iran

“…4H). (Gregorio & Leonide, 1980;Harrison & Gardner, 1991;Arredondo-Bernal & Trujillo-Arriaga, 1994;Downie et al, 1995;Zamani et al, 2005;Costa et al, 2007;Ejlali et al, 2008;Disney, 2008;Abdi Goodarzi et al, 2012;Mongiardino Koch et al, 2013;Machkour-M'Rabet et al, 2015;Zhang et al, 2017;Marchiori, 2020;Noknoy et al, 2020). Species frequency and rate of parasitism.…”

The chemical ecology of the fungus-farming termite symbiosis

“…155 It is thus undeniable that further investigation carries promising potential for novel discoveries. This potential extends to so-far unexplored organisms that inhabit termite mounds as guests, such as rove beetles and scuttle ies and their gut symbionts, [158][159][160] and other conceivably benecial symbionts (e.g., yeasts 161 ). Understanding these multispecies interactions, and the compounds involved, remains a major challenge and an outstanding opportunity for future work on the symbiosis.…”

“…155 It is thus undeniable that further investigation carries promising potential for novel discoveries. This potential extends to so-far unexplored organisms that inhabit termite mounds as guests, such as rove beetles and scuttle flies and their gut symbionts, 158–160 and other conceivably beneficial symbionts ( e.g. , yeasts 161 ).…”

“…Only four of the estimated 102-149 genus-level phylotypes (average 131 14 ) have been cultured and explored for natural product discoveries, not including metabolomic analyses of complex microbial communities in guts and fungus combs. (C) Natural product discoveries have largely overlooked guest species, including beetles (Tom Murray) and flies, [158][159][160] and additional symbionts (e.g., yeast species 161 ).…”