Abstract
Megaselia ischnopodae Disney n. sp. (Diptera, Phoridae) is reared from larvae found in mature male figs of Ficus ischnopoda Miq. (Urticales, Moracea) in Thailand. Other phorid species associated with fig trees are briefly reviewed.
Highlights
Figs are the unique enclosed inflorescences of fig trees (Ficus L., Urticales: Moraceae)
Fig trees are pollinated by adult female fig wasps (Hymenoptera, Agaonidae) that enter receptive figs via a narrow ostiole to lay eggs in the numerous ovules that line their inner surfaces
The only other scuttle flies reported as developing in figs are three species of Chonocephalus Wandolleck, C. blackithorum Disney, species B and species C in Disney (1986), which could not be named because only the flightless females were reared
Summary
Figs (syconia) are the unique enclosed inflorescences of fig trees (Ficus L., Urticales: Moraceae). Wingless adult males of the generation emerge more or less synchronously a few weeks later They seek out and mate with females that are still inside the ovules, act cooperatively to chew one or more emergence tunnels through the wall of the fig. Around half of the 800 or so described species of fig trees have a monoecious breeding system, where pollinator offspring and seeds develop together in the same figs. Five species of Megaselia Rondani (scuttle flies, Phoridae) have been reared previously from nine different species of monoecious fig trees in South Africa (Compton & Disney 1991). They are Megaselia dentata Disney, M. ficaria Disney, M. parvorata Disney, M. surophila Disney and M. vorata Disney.
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