Life history parameters and description of the larva ofApocephalus paraponerae(Diptera: Phoridae), a parasitoid of the giant tropical antParaponera clavata(Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Abstract

Data from laboratory rearing of the parasitoid Apocephalus paraponerae in its ant host, Paraponera clavata, show that the egg stage lasts only 6 ½-7 hours, and the larval feeding period is only 48 hours. These times are extremely short, compared to most other phorids. The pupal stage, however, was 17–26 days, much longer than in other phorids, possibly to compensate in some way for the brief larval stage. Although this fly is a parasitoid its life history is also similar to that of a scavenger, and contains elements of both of these ways of life. The larva of A. paraponerae is described, the first such description for a species of Apocephalus. The larval structure resembles that of other, related phorids in most aspects, but an anterior crosspiece joining the cornua of the cephalopharyngeal skeleton is unusual. The significance of this and other structures cannot be specified until more data are available from larvae of other phorid species.