Small orchid bees are not safe: parasitism of two species of Euglossa (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossina) by conopid flies (Diptera: Conopidae)

Abstract

Here we report for the first time data on parasitism of two species of Euglossa, E. intersecta Latreille, 1838 and E. anodorhynchi Nemésio, 2006, by conopid flies of the genus Physocephala Schiner, 1861. A parasitized adult male of E. intersecta was collected in Acre, northwestern Brazil,while parasitized adult females of E. anodorhynchi were obtained from trap-nests in São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. For both host species, the parasite-host association was confirmed by rearing the flies from parasitized adult bees. E. anodorhynchi was attacked by Physocephala bipunctata (Macquart, 1843) and E. intersecta by an unidentified species of Physocephala Schiner, 1861. Although our current knowledge is still incipient, parasitism by conopid flies can be considered widespread in euglossine bees, judging from the cases reported so far, which involve different host genera and species distributed widely apart.

Larval development of Physocephala (Diptera, Conopidae) in the bumble bee Bombus morio (Hymenoptera, Apidae)

“…This strategy is necessary, once the adult parasite fly is relatively large and needs to emerge from the largest intersegmental membrane. The female fly oviposites on the tergites, but the imago emerges from the bee's sternites, as also observed by Caldano et al (2008) and Melo et al (2008). The duration of the larval and pupal stages were measured.…”

“…The adult fly presented all the taxonomic characteristics of the genus Physocephala Schiner, 1861, with a petiolate abdomen presenting with two long and narrow segments, and the others broader and shorter; anterior cross vein r-m well beyond the middle of discal cell (1 st M2); and hind femur irregularly thickened at the base (Camras & Hurd 1957). They resemble solitary wasps, and their larvae are parasites of Sphecidae and aculeate bees, especially bumble bees (Stuke 2005;Caldano et al 2008;Melo et al 2008).…”

“…When foraging or even resting on flowers, bees can become targets to conopid flies such as Physocephala (Caldano et al 2008;Melo et al 2008). On these occasions, according to Santos et al (2008), Centris (Heterocentris) analis (Fabricius, 1804) can be parasitized by Conopidae females depositing their eggs between the intersegmental membranes of the abdominal tergites, which are extended, penetrating their ovipositor and depositing the egg to develop inside the adult bee's abdomen.…”

Orchid bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in the coastal forests of southern Brazil: diversity, efficiency of sampling methods and comparison with other Atlantic forest surveys

“…Only Euglossa roderici is here considered to be endemic of southern São Paulo and Paraná coastal areas, although E. anodorhynchi may also prove to be an additional endemic. It is known to inhabit the studied region (Maia, 2008;Melo et al, 2008), but was not collected in our surveys.…”

New records and updated distribution of Myopa metallica Camras 1992 (Diptera: Conopidae: Myopinae) in Chile by using integrative collection methods

“…Neotropical thick-headed fl ies are represented by more than 220 species in 14 genera such as Zodion, Physocephala, Physoconops or Stylogaster (Skevington et al 2010, Stuke 2017. The principal investigation on Neotropical Conopidae has been in taxonomy (Camras 1955, 1957, 1992, 1996, Pearson & Camras 1978, host-parasite relationships (Melo et al 2008, Stuke et al 2011, Stuke and Cardoso 2013 or checklist (Stuke & Skevington 2007, Rocha & Mello-Patiu 2016. In this sense, native and endemic thickheaded fl ies in Chile are poorly known, represented by nine species, including the genus Mallochoconops Malloch 1933, Physocephala Schiner 1861, Zodion Latreille 1796 and Myopa Fabricius 1775.…”