Abstract
Pre-imaginal morphology of the flower fly species Graptomyzasignata (Walker) is described and figured in detail based on specimens collected on a decomposed Aloe-like plant in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. Third-instar larva is described for the first time and the puparium morphology is re-described using both light (optical) and electron microscopy. The present work represents the second larval description for a species of the genus Graptomyza, after the description of the larva of G.alabeta Séguy. The immatures of these two Graptomyza species were examined and compared to the pre-imaginal stages of the other members of the tribe Volucellini, pointing out the possible diagnostic characters of the genus Graptomyza. Moreover, new DNA barcodes are provided for G.signata and deposited in the NCBI GenBank.
Highlights
Graptomyza Wiedemann, 1820 (Diptera, Syrphidae) is a medium-size flower fly genus with 90 described valid species, with several more still undescribed, widespread in the Afrotropical, Oriental and Australasian Regions, including the Pacific (Thompson et al 2017)
Graptomyza is a member of the tribe Volucellini, which further comprises the genera Volucella Geoffroy, 1762, Ornidia Lepeletier & Serville, 1828 and Copestylum Macquart, 1846
The main objectives of the present work are to describe for the first time the larval morphology of the third-instar larva of G. signata and to re-describe the morphology of the puparium, together with the cephalopharyngeal skeleton, highlighting its diagnostic features
Summary
Graptomyza Wiedemann, 1820 (Diptera, Syrphidae) is a medium-size flower fly genus with 90 described valid species, with several more still undescribed, widespread in the Afrotropical, Oriental and Australasian Regions, including the Pacific (Thompson et al 2017). Graptomyza is a member of the tribe Volucellini (subfamily Eristalinae), which further comprises the genera Volucella Geoffroy, 1762, Ornidia Lepeletier & Serville, 1828 and Copestylum Macquart, 1846. This tribe is characterised by having the antennal arista plumose or pectinate and vein M1 straight or recessive (Thompson 1972), with some exceptions (Hull 1949, Thompson 1972, 1981, 1991). Some species are found in Acacia-savannah habitats or montane grasslands and even Graptomyza signata (Walker, 1860) is distributed across tropical dry savannah (Whittington 1992, 1994a) Larvae of this genus have saprophagous feeding habits (Thompson 1991, Whittington 1994a). While little is known about the ecology of the adults, Hull (1949: 350) suggested a resemblance between Graptomyza imagoes and stingless bees (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini), but Whittington (1992) questioned this mimicry
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