Prey attraction by larvae of the New Zealand glowworm, Arachnocampa luminosa (Diptera: Mycetophilidae)

Abstract. The hypothesis that bioluminescence produced by larvae of the New Zealand glow-worm, Arachnocampa luminosa , attracts prey was tested experimentally in Reserve Cave, Waitomo, New Zealand, and in its bush-clad entrance over a total of 200 days during winter, spring, and summer. We compared catches on transparent adhesive traps placed either over glowworms or over areas from which glowworms had been removed. Adhesive traps over glowworms caught significantly more invertebrates per trap per day than did control traps. Glowworms in bush attracted greater numbers and types of invertebrates than did glowworms in the cave. Diptera predominated in both bush (86% of the total catch) and cave (89%). Also caught were small numbers of Araneae, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Orthoptera, Trichoptera, Gastropoda, Acarina, and Neuroptera—listed in order of abundance—but no adults of A. luminosa were caught. Glowworms under adhesive traps survived with little or no food for up to 78 days.     

The fine structure of the light organ of the New Zealand glow-worm Arachnocampa luminosa (Diptera: Mycetophilidae).

The swollen distal tips of the Malpighian tubules of the glow-worm Arachnocampa luminosa constitute the light organ. The ventral and lateral surfaces are covered by a tracheal ‘reflector’ and the nervous supply to the light organ comes from the ganglion in the penultimate segment. Fine nerve terminals, axons, and glial cells can be seen in close proximity to the basal surface of the cells of the light organ. The epithelial cells of the light organ are large, the cytoplasm dense, homogeneous and acidophilic. The cytoplasm gives a strong positive reaction for protein. The cytoplasm contains a high density of free ribosomes, patches of dense material, smooth endoplasmic reticulum, glycogen and scattered microtubules. Mitochondria are numerous; they are large, randomly distributed and packed with fine cristae. These cells lack the features characteristic of Malpighian tubule epithelial cells; infolding of the apical and basal cell surfaces is reduced and the cytoplasm contains few organelles. These cells do not contain secretory or photocyte granules and the grainy cell matrix is thought to be the luciferin substrate. Oxygen is supplied via the tracheal layer (which may have secondary reflecting properties) and light production controlled by neurosecretory excitation either directly via synapses, or by hormones. There are no other reports of Malpighian tubules of insects producing light and the fine structure of these cells is distinct. Thus, the swollen distal tips of the Malpighian tubules of the glow-worm undoubtedly constitute a unique luminescent organ.     

A comparison between the larval eyes of the dimly luminescent Keroplatus nipponicus and the brightly luminescent Arachnocampa luminosa (Diptera; Keroplatidae)

Larvae of the weakly blue‐luminescent fungus gnat Keroplatus nipponicus possess on either side of their heads a small black stemmatal eye with a plano‐convex lens approximately 25 μm in diameter. In total, 12–14 retinula cells give rise to a centrally fused rhabdom of up to 8 μm in diameter. The rhabdom's constituent microvilli, approximately 70 nm in width, are roughly orthogonally oriented, a requirement for polarization sensitivity. Screening pigment granules are abundant in the retinula cells and measure at least 1 μm in diameter. In comparison with the stemmatal eye of the brightly luminescent Arachnocampa luminosa, that of K. nipponicus is considerably smaller with a poorer developed lens and a rhabdom that is less voluminous, but possesses wider microvilli. Although the larval eye of K. nipponicus can be expected to be functional, as the larvae react to light with a behavioural response, the eyes are probably mainly involved in the detection of ambient light levels and not, as in A. luminosa, also in responding to the luminescence of nearby conspecifics.     

The larval head of Exechia (Mycetophilidae) and Bibio (Bibionidae) (Diptera)

Exechia and Bibio have retained several plesiomorphic groundplan features of Diptera and Bibionomorpha, including a fully exposed and sclerotized head capsule, the transverse undivided labrum, the absence of movable premandibles, and undivided mandibles without combs. The fusion of the hypostomal bridge with the head capsule and largely reduced antennae are derived features shared by both taxa. The absence of teeth at the anterior hypostomal margin is a potential autapomorphy of Bibionomorpha. A basal position of Anisopodidae is suggested by a number of plesiomorphies retained in this family. Apomorphies of Bibionomorpha excluding Anisopodidae are the reduction of tentorial elements, the partial fusion of the labrum and clypeus, one-segmented antennae, the absence of a separate submental sclerite, the loss of the labial palpus, and the reduction of the pharyngeal filter apparatus. Head structures of Bibio are largely unmodified. The subprognathous orientation is one of few autapomorphic features. In contrast, the mouthparts of Exechia are highly modified in correlation with the specialized food uptake. The rasping counterrotating movements of maxillae and mandibles with teeth oriented in opposite directions are carried out by strongly developed extensors and flexors of the paired mouthparts. The modified labium mechanically supports the “drill head” formed by the mandibles und maxillae. The necessary stability of the head capsule is provided by the hypostomal bridge which also compensates the far-reaching reduction of the tentorium.     

中国隆菌蚊属二新种记述(双翅目:菌蚊科)

记述中国隆菌蚊属2新种,模式标本保存在浙江林学院昆虫标本室。     

Phylogeny of the tribe Sciophilini (Diptera: Mycetophilidae: Sciophilinae)

The monophyly and phylogenetic relationships within the species rich Sciophilini (Diptera: Mycetophilidae) were analysed, based on 96 adult morphological characters. The cladistic analysis included 80 Sciophilini exemplar species (representing all but 1 of the 36 genera placed previously in the Sciophilini) and 11 outgroup taxa of other mycetophilid tribes. The monophyly of Sciophilini was supported in the parsimony analysis by four synapomorphies. The tribe now contains 34 genera: Acnemia Winnertz, Acomoptera Vockeroth, Adicroneura Vockeroth, Afrocnemia Matile, Allocotocera Mik, Anaclileia Meunier, Aneura Marshall, Austrosciophila Tonnoir, Azana Walker, Baeopterogyna Vockeroth, Cluzobra Edwards, Drepanocercus Vockeroth, Duretophragma Borkent gen.n. , Eudicrana Loew, Leptomorphus Curtis, Loicia Vockeroth, Megalopelma Enderlein, Monoclona Mik, Morganiella Tonnoir & Edwards, Neoallocotocera Tonnoir, Neoaphelomera Miller, Neotrizygia Tonnoir & Edwards, Neuratelia Rondani, Paramorganiella Tonnoir, Paratinia Mik, Paratrizygia Tonnoir, Parvicellula Marshall, Phthinia Winnertz, Polylepta Winnertz, Sciophila Meigen, Stenophragma Skuse, Tasmanina Tonnoir, Taxicnemis Tonnoir & Edwards, and Trizygia Skuse. Four genera placed previously in Sciophilini (Coelophthinia Edwards, Impleta Plassmann, Speolepta Edwards and Syntemna Winnertz) are transferred to the Gnoristini. Neoneurotelia Shinji and Neoparatinia Shinji are considered nomina dubia . Diagnoses are given for all genera in the tribe. Duretophragma gen.n. is described for the following species (all of which are comb.n. ): Duretophragma andina (Duret), Duretophragma argentina (Duret), Duretophragma glabanum (Johannsen), Duretophragma fusca (Edwards), Duretophragma humeralis (Edwards), Duretophragma intermedia (Edwards), Duretophragma longifurcata (Freeman) (type species), Duretophragma morigenea (Edwards), Duretophragma naumanni (Duret), Duretophragma nigricauda (Edwards), Duretophragma obscura (Duret), Duretophragma ochracea (Freeman), Duretophragma pleuralis (Edwards) and Duretophragma similis (Johannsen). Other new generic combinations include: Trizygia albidens (Oliveira & Amorim) comb.n. , Trizygia alvesi (Oliveira & Amorim) comb.n. , Trizygia balbi (Oliveira & Amorim) comb.n. , Trizygia camargoi (Oliveira & Amorim) comb.n. and Afrocnemia stellamicans (Chandler) comb.n .     

草地贪夜蛾成虫复眼明暗适应及黄光照射下明适应状态转化率

【目的】蛾类昆虫的趋光性与复眼明暗适应状态的转化有着直接的关系,本研究旨在阐明光照与草地贪夜蛾Spodotera frugiperda复眼明暗适应状态转化的关系。【方法】在光、暗适应条件和不同光照强度黄光照射下,在不同时间段,用相机迅速拍照,观察统计草地贪夜蛾成虫复眼的明暗适应状态及明、暗适应状态转化率。【结果】在明适应状态下,草地贪夜蛾成虫经黄光照射1 h后,随光照强度的增加,复眼明适应状态保持率逐步升高：雄成虫复眼在0.1~0.5 lx时明适应状态保持率为67.77%(有32.23%的转化为暗适应状态与中间状态),4~6 lx时明适应状态保持率达到100%;雌成虫复眼在7~10 lx时,明适应状态保持率达98.90%。在明适应状态下,经黄光照射3 h后,草地贪夜蛾成虫复眼明适应状态保持率亦随着光照强度的增加逐步升高,在0.1~0.5 lx时雄成虫复眼明适应状态保持率为50.00%,雌成虫为32.23%;在光照强度7~10 lx时,雌雄成虫复眼明适应状态保持率分别为90.00%和100%。在暗适应状态下,草地贪夜蛾成虫经不同光照强度的黄光照射30 min后,成虫复眼向明适应状态逐渐转化：在0.1~0.5 lx光照强度时雌、雄成虫复眼明适应状态转化率均为93.33%;当光照强度达到0.6~0.9 lx时雌成虫复眼的明适应状态转化率达到100%,雄成虫复眼则在1~2 lx时达到100%。【结论】结果说明,草地贪夜蛾成虫有较强的光敏感性,且雌虫对黄光的光敏感性略强于雄虫。     

布菌蚊属二中国新记录种（双翅目：菌蚊科）

Boletina dispeca and B.conjuncta are reported for the first time from China.The specimens aredeposited in the Entomological Collection of Zhejiang Forestry College,China.     

Biology of the New Zealand genus Neolimnia (Diptera: Sciomyzidae)

Abstract

Data are presented on the life cycles of eight species of Neolimnia, an endemic New Zealand genus of snail-killing flies. Habitats, geographical distributions, biological features of adults and immature stages, including adult and larval behaviour and feeding habits, and phenology are discussed. Larvae of subgenus Pseudolimnia live in aquatic environments; those of N. (P.) repo, N. (P.) sigma, and N. (P.) ura prey on aquatic pulmonate snails, but those of N. (P.) tranquilla prey on aquatic prosobranch snails. Larvae of Neolimnia (Neolimnia) castanea, N. (N.) irrorata, N. (N.) obscura, and N. (N.) striata live in terrestrial environments, and apparently prey overtly on terrestrial snails in nature, but will also attack aquatic snails in laboratory rearings.     

Cryptonephric malpighian tubule system in a dipteran larva,the New Zealand glow-worm, Arachnocampa luminosa (Diptera: Mycetophilidae): A structural study

The Malpighian tubules of the glow-worm are divided into four morphologically distinct regions, each composed of a different cell type. Part 3 of the Malpighian tubules of A. luminosa is intimately bound to the rectum by a layer of fat body. This association of the tubules with the hindgut is referred to as a cryptonephric system. This type of arrangement has been described in some Coleoptera and the larvae of most Lepidoptera but has never before been reported in the Diptera. In the glow-worm the cryptonephric tubules themselves are small, and adjacent to the fat body the epithelial cells are modified to form very thin windows or ‘leptophragmata’ (Lison, 1937). The main epithelial cells exhibit features characteristic of highly active, secretory Malpighian tubule cells. The high density of mitochondria and their association with all the microvilli is indicative of a highly active secretory cell. The high concentration of glycogen in these cells and their intimate association with the hindgut suggest that they may, in addition, have a nutrient absorptive function. The role of the cryptonephric rectal complex in the glow-worm is discussed in the light of present knowledge gained from previous studies of coleopteran and larval lepidopteran cryptonephric systems. On structural grounds a model is proposed for the regulation of the ionic environment of the rectum, and the uptake and metabolism of organic material from the rectal lumen by this cryptonephric complex.     

Distribution and phylogenetic relationships of Australian glow-worms Arachnocampa (Diptera, Keroplatidae)

Glow-worms are bioluminescent fly larvae (Order Diptera, genus Arachnocampa) found only in Australia and New Zealand. Their core habitat is rainforest gullies and wet caves. Eight species are present in Australia; five of them have been recently described. The geographic distribution of species in Australia encompasses the montane regions of the eastern Australian coastline from the Wet Tropics region of northern Queensland to the cool temperate and montane rainforests of southern Australia and Tasmania. Phylogenetic trees based upon partial sequences of the mitochondrial genes cytochrome oxidase II and 16S mtDNA show that populations tend to be clustered into allopatric geographic groups showing overall concordance with the known species distributions. The deepest division is between the cool-adapted southern subgenus, Lucifera, and the more widespread subgenus, Campara. Lucifera comprises the sister groups, A. tasmaniensis, from Tasmania and the newly described species, A. buffaloensis, found in a high-altitude cave at Mt Buffalo in the Australian Alps in Victoria. The remaining Australian glow-worms in subgenus Campara are distributed in a swathe of geographic clusters that extend from the Wet Tropics in northern Queensland to the temperate forests of southern Victoria. Samples from caves and rainforests within any one geographic location tended to cluster together within a clade. We suggest that the morphological differences between hypogean (cave) and epigean (surface) glow-worm larvae are facultative adaptations to local microclimatic conditions rather than due to the presence of cryptic species in caves.     

Digestive system of larval black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae): structure and phylogeny

Abstract. Larval gut characters of 45 species of black flies, representing 17 subgenera and 15 genera, were studied for their utility in taxon diagnosis and phylogenetic inference. Phase-contrast and scanning electron microscopy revealed a wealth of new characters in the esophageal armature of the foregut. Larval gut morphology, particularly characters of the esophageal armature, varied significantly among taxa, permitting generic diagnoses. A cladogram inferred from 13 gut characters supported a sister-group relationship between Parasimulium and the remaining simuliids, but did not show a strong phylogenetic signal for the current, well-supported concept of tribal level monophyly.     

Molecular phylogeny of the fungus gnat tribe Exechiini (Mycetophilidae, Diptera)

The phylogenetic relationships within the fungus gnat tribe Exechiini have been left unattended for many years. Recent studies have not shed much light on the intergeneric relationship within the tribe. Here the first attempt to resolve the phylogeny of the tribe Exechiini using molecular markers is presented. The nuclear 18S and the mitochondrial 16S, and cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) genes were successfully sequenced for 20 species representing 15 Exechiini genera and five outgroup genera. Bayesian, maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood analyses revealed basically congruent tree topologies and the monophyly of Exechiini, including the genus Cordyla , is confirmed. The molecular data corroborate previous morphological studies in several aspects. Cordyla is found in a basal clade together with Brachypeza , Pseudorymosia and Stigmatomeria . The splitting of the genera Allodiopsis s.l. and Brevicornu s.l. as well as the sistergroup relationship of Exechia and Exechiopsis is also supported. The limited phylogenetic information provided by morphological characters is mirrored in the limited resolution of the molecular markers used in this study. Short internal and long-terminal branches obtained may indicate a rapid radiation of the Exechiini genera during a short evolutionary period.     

Three new chironomids (Diptera: Chironomidae) from the New Zealand seashore

The adults of Telmatogeton mortoni n.sp. (Clunioninae) and Smittia reinga n.sp. and Smittia whangaroa n.sp. (Orthocladiinae), from the northern New Zealand seashore, are described and figured.     

Towards a molecular phylogeny of the fungus gnat genus Boletina (Diptera: Mycetophilidae)

Martinsson, S., Kjærandsen, J. & Sundberg, P. (2011). Towards a molecular phylogeny of the fungus gnat genus Boletina (Diptera: Mycetophilidae). —Zoologica Scripta, 40, 272–281. Boletina is a species rich genus of fungus gnats (Diptera: Mycetophilidae) with a mainly Holarctic distribution. The systematics within the genus has gained little attention and this is a first attempt to shed some light over the systematics of Boletina and to test the segregation of the genera Saigusaia and Aglaomyia from Boletina. The nuclear marker 28S and mitochondrial 16S, COI and CytB were amplified and sequenced for 23 taxa that were analysed separately and together with a broad sample of outgroup taxa obtained from GenBank, where also 18S sequences were added. Phylogenies were estimated using maximum likelihood, Bayesian inference and parsimony. We strengthen the hypothesized sister‐group relationship between Docosia and Boletina, but the genus Boletina as currently delimited appears to be paraphyletic and nested in a clade together with Aglaomyia, Coelosia and Gnoriste. The genus Saigusaia, on the other hand, seems to be well separated from Boletina. The Boletina erythropyga species group is consistently found as a distinct basal clade within Boletina s.l. The results obtained are otherwise ambiguous both for the taxa in focus and in some analyses globally with a statistically supported total breakdown of the traditional higher classification into tribes, subfamilies and even families. Interestingly, this breakdown almost disappeared when additional 18S sequences were added.     

Molecular phylogeny of the fungus gnat family Mycetophilidae (Diptera,Mycetophiliformia)

Abstract A molecular phylogeny of the fungus gnat family Mycetophilidae based on the nuclear 18S, 28S, and the mitochondrial 16S rRNA genes is presented. The total alignment included 58 taxa and 1704 bp. The family was recovered as monophyletic in parsimony and Bayesian analyses. In the Bayesian analysis, Mycetophilinae and its two tribes, Mycetophilini and Exechiini, were monophyletic with good statistical support. The subfamily Mycomyinae was found consistently in a sister‐group relationship to Mycetophilinae. Gnoristinae was rendered paraphyletic, subtending Mycomyinae and Mycetophilinae. Within Gnoristinae, the genera Coelosia Winnertz, Boletina Staeger, Gnoriste Meigen group with Docosia Winnertz, usually considered to be a member of Leiinae. No support was found for the monophyly of the subfamilies Sciophilinae and Leiinae.     

First fungus gnats of genus Manota Williston (Diptera: Mycetophilidae) from Japan

The genus Manota is recorded from Japan for the first time. Three new species, Manota satoyamanis, Manota indahae and Manota tunoae spp. nov., are described, based on specimens collected in an ecological sampling program of arthropods in the “satoyama” landscape of Ishikawa Prefecture. “Satoyama” represents the traditional rural landscape of Japan, which is characterized by a mosaic of secondary forests, plantations, ponds and rice paddy fields. The new species raise the number of Palearctic Manota species from five to eight.     

浙江龙王山滑菌蚊三新种(双翅目：菌蚊科)

报道浙江省龙王山自然保护区滑菌蚊属Leia三新种：针尾滑菌蚊L.aculeolusa sp.nov.,长尾滑菌蚊L.ampulliforma sp.nov.和龙王山滑菌蚊L. longwangshana sp.nov.。模式标本保存在中国农业大学昆虫标本馆。