Aleochara spp. (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) and pupal parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) attacking symbovine fly pupae (Diptera: Muscidae, Sacrophagidae and Otitidae) in southeastern Brazil

• Published in: Biological control 1999, Vol.14 (2), p.77-83
• Main Authors: Almeida, M.A.F. de, Prado, A.P. do
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aleochara; aleochara (coprochara) notula; aleochara puberula; cattle manure; Eucoilidae; Musca domestica; Muscidifurax; muscidifurax raptoroides; parasites; parasites of insect pests; parasitoids; physiphora aenea; population density; puparium; sarcophagula; seasonal abundance; seasonal variation; Spalangia cameroni; Spalangia endius; spalangia gemina; Spalangia nigroaenea; species abundance; species diversity; Stomoxys calcitrans; symbovine flies
• ISSN: 1049-9644; 1090-2112
• DOI: 10.1006/bcon.1998.0671

Samples of house fly, Musca domestica L., stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.), and Physiphora aenea (F.) puparia were collected weekly at a dairy cattle farm, in Piracununga (21 degrees 59' S; 47 degrees 21' W and 597.0 m), State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, between March 1994 and February 1995. Puparia were collected in eight sites (each had a diameter of approximately 60 cm and depth of 10 cm) chosen around two manure storage piles and a feeding trough to determine which species comprised the fauna of pupal parasitoids. Adults were allowed to emerge from intact fly puparia and were dissected 50 days later. Adults of house flies emerged from ca. 37.4% of 10,504 intact house fly puparia, 38.2% of puparia were aborted, parasitoids emerged from 7.2%, and larvae of Aleochara puberula (Klug) emerged from 17.2%. Adults of stable fly emerged from 41.5%, parasitoids emerged from 57.5%, and larvae of A. puberula emerged from only 1.0% of 200 intact stable fly puparia collected. Adults of P. aenea emerged from 83.3%, parasitoids attacked 15.4%, and larvae of A. puberula emerged from 1.2% of 162 intact P. aenea puparia collected. Muscidifurax raptoroides (Kogan and Legner) and Muscidifurax sp. were recovered only from house flies, whereas Spalangia cameroni Perkins, S. gemina Boucek, S. endius Walker, S. nigroaenea Curtis and A. puberula were recovered from all three fly species. The seasonal emergence of parasitoids was analyzed for the three species of flies collected. Larvae of Aleochara (Coprochara) notula (Erichson) (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) were reared and a wasp from family Eucoilidae (Cynipoidea) was found in some puparia (ca. 20) of Sarcophagula sp. (Sarcophagidae). This is the first report of aleocharine larvae attacking puparia of symbovine flies in Brazil.