Protogyny, protandry, and bimodal emergence patterns in necrophagous Diptera

Abstract

The emergence patterns of Diptera breeding in small-sized and buried carrion were studied in rearing experiments with field-exposed baits. Development times are reported for 52 species in the families Phoridae, Sphaeroceridae, Sepsidae, Heleomyzidae, Anthomyiidae, Fanniidae, Muscidae, Sarcophagidae, Psychodidae, and Sciaridae. Most species showed a synchronous emergence of males and females. Protandry was detected in Hydrotaea ignava (Harris) (Muscidae), H. palaestrica (Meigen), and Psychoda minuta (Banks) (Psychodidae). Protogyny was found in several species of Phoridae, namely Conicera similis (Haliday), C. schnittmanni Schmitz, Anevrina unispinosa (Zetterstedt), and Triphleba dudai (Schmitz). Conicera schnittmanni and T. dudai showed two discrete emergence periods for each sex, which is due to a delayed emergence of some specimens. Protogyny is a rare phenomenon in Diptera and insects in general, and has never been reported before in Phoridae. The significance of protogyny could not be ascertained in the examined species, because of insufficient information on their mating systems and female receptivity patterns. Buck M. 2001. Protogynie, protandrie et emergence bimodale chez des diptkres necrophages. The Canadian Entomologist 133 : 521-531.

The Life History Traits of the Arctiine MothPareuchaetes insulata, a Biological Control Agent ofChromolaena odoratain South Africa

“…The emergence of adult females before males suggests the absence of protandry, in which males are reproductively active before females, and the presence of protogyny, in which females emerge and are reproductively active first. Protandry appears common in many insects including Lepidoptera (Honek 1997;Morbey & Ydenberg 2001), but examples of protogyny are also known (Honek 1997;Buck 2001). Protandry presents two advantages in that it: (i) maximizes copulation opportunities for males (Wiklund & Fagerström 1977;Bulmer 1983) and; (ii) minimizes the pre-reproductive period of females because they emerge when most males are available for mating (Fagerstrom & Wiklund 1982;Carvalho et al 1998;Larsen et al 2013).…”

An unusually rich scuttle fly fauna (Diptera, Phoridae) from north of the Arctic Circle in the Kola Peninsula, N. W. Russia

“…A new record for Russia west of the Urals. This species has been reared from dead snails (Keilin 1919) and carrion baits, including liver, dead molluscs and earthworms, and from rotting wheat flour, vegetation and mushrooms (Buck 1997, 2001). …”

How the sperm lost its tail: the evolution of aflagellate sperm

“…It therefore remains a possibility that sperm competition occurs at some level within this group, although the definitive test remains to be done. Although I am not aware of any direct information existing regarding the mating patterns of members of the Psychodinae, a study of the emergence patterns of various dipterans by Buck (2001) found that at least one species belonging to the Psychodinae was protoandrous, a pattern that may be associated with a monandrous mating system (Wiklund & Fagerström, 1977).…”