TACHINIDAE: Evolution, Behavior, and Ecology

Abstract

Tachinidae are one of the most diverse and ecologically important families in the order Diptera. As parasitoids, they are important natural enemies in most terrestrial ecological communities, particularly as natural enemies of larval Lepidoptera. Despite their diversity and ecological impact, relatively little is known about the evolution and ecology of tachinids, and what is known tends to be widely dispersed in specialized reports, journals, or texts. In this review we synthesize information on the evolutionary history, behavior, and ecology of tachinids and discuss promising directions for future research involving tachinids. We provide an overview of the phylogenetic history and geographic diversity of tachinids, examine the evolution of oviposition strategies and host associations, review known mechanisms of host location, and discuss recent studies dealing with the ecological interactions between tachinids and their hosts. In doing so, we highlight ways in which investigation of these parasitoids provides insight into such topics as biogeographic patterns of diversity, the evolution of ecological specialization, the tritrophic context of enemy-herbivore interactions, and the role of host location behavior in shaping host range.

DNA barcodes reveal cryptic host-specificity within the presumed polyphagous members of a genus of parasitoid flies (Diptera: Tachinidae)

“…The fly larva hides or feeds inside the host larva while it feeds and grows and then rapidly eats the host in the late larval or pupal stage, eventually killing it. With Ϸ8,500 described species, the Tachinidae are among the most species-rich of Diptera families (2,(5)(6)(7). The New World and largely Neotropical tachinid genus Belvosia (7) contains as many as 78 morphologically defined species, of which Ϸ25 occur in Costa Rica.…”

“…It is widely believed that tachinid parasitoids are relatively generalist (polyphagous) in their host selection (6)(7)(8), but the 27-year inventory of 400-plus species of tachinids reared from 3,500-plus species of ACG caterpillars indicates that the great majority of tropical species are, indeed, highly host-specific (9). The three species of ACG Belvosia that appear to be generalists are exceptional (http:͞͞janzen.sas.upenn.edu).…”

DNA barcodes affirm that 16 species of apparently generalist tropical parasitoid flies (Diptera, Tachinidae) are not all generalists

“…There may be many more species of insect parasitoids than currently believed if host-specificity has been underestimated (4,5). After the Hymenoptera, Diptera (flies) are the most species-rich group of parasitoids, and the obligate parasitoid family Tachinidae is among the most species-rich of Diptera families, with nearly 10,000 described species (1,(6)(7)(8). Within this diversity, many described species of Tachinidae are extremely similar morphologically, and it is a taxonomically challenging family.…”

“…It is a widely held view that many species of tachinid parasitoids are relatively generalist (polyphagous) in the species of hosts they parasitize (7)(8)(9)(10). However, a 29-year inventory of Ͼ400 species of tachinids reared from Ͼ390,000 wild-caught caterpillars of Ͼ3,500 species in Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) in northwestern Costa Rica indicates that at least 90% of the tachinid species from this tropical site are host-specific to one or a few related species (specialists) (ref.…”

New records for Turkish Tachinidae (Diptera) fauna from Erciyes Mountain, Kayseri

“…Overall, the Tachinidae are considered beneficial, as most species are primary parasitoids of plant pests. Many tachinids have been used successfully in biological control programs (Grenier, 1988;Stireman et al, 2006). Although the history of studies on Tachinidae fauna is not very long in Turkey, there have been a number of detailed studies about the family (Doğanlar, 1982a(Doğanlar, , 1982bKara, 1999aKara, , 1999bKara, , 2001aKara, , 2001bKara, , 2002Kara and Alaoğlu, 2002;Kara and Tschorsnig, 2003;Kara et al, 2010;Atay and Kara, 2014).…”