Notes on the Biology of Microlynchia pusilla Speiser, a Lousefly of Mourning Doves

Abstract

A culture of the lousefly Microlynchia pusilla Speiser was established on two mourning doves and maintained for 7 months. The culture supplied a total of 201 puparia. Normal emergence of flies from 96 of 144 puparia incubated at room temperature required 19 ? 2 days. Diapause apparently did not occur in this species since frozen puparia failed to produce flies, and puparia cooled in the refrigerator were delayed in emergence only the length of time cooled. Larviposition and the release of adhesive prepuparia occurred away from the dove at intervals of 3 days. Observations were made on the characteristics of prepuparia, puparia, pupae, longevity, copulation, and feeding. Speiser in 1902 described Microlynchia pusilla (= Lynchia pusilla), a parasitic and pupiparous hippoboscid fly, from an avian host in Cuba. In the United States M. pusilla has been collected from 19 species of birds with 51 individual records of collection. Hosts are found among nine species of the Passeriformes, five species of the Columbiformes, three species of the Galliformes, and one species each of the Cuculiformes and Caprimulgidae (Bequaert, 1953). Bequaert (1953) states that M. pusilla appears to be adaptable to new hosts but that evidence that these hosts are used for breeding purposes is lacking. He furthermore states (1955) that larviposition and the puparium are unknown. Although reports of efforts to culture M. pusilla and to collect the puparium are apparently nonexistent, valuable information is available on the culture techniques of other species of louseflies. O'Roke (1930) and Tarshis (1958) described the biology of Lynchia hirsuta (Ferris). Coatney (1931), Prouty and Coatney (1934), and Huff (1937) studied Pseudolynchia canariensis Macquart (Pseudolynchia maura Bigot). Information on Stilbometopa impressa (Bigot) was given by Herman (1944) and Tarshis (1958). Bennett (1961) worked with Ornithomyia fringillina (Curtis), Ornithoica vicina (Walker), and Lynchia americana (Leach). Herms (1937) experimented with Lynchia americana (= Lync a fusca Falcoz). The object of this paper is to present observations on the life cycle and cage biology of M. pusilla. MATERIALS AND METHODS In June 1961 four male and one female Microlynchia pusilla and a pair of Stilbometopa podopostyla (Speiser) were captured in Denton County, Texas, from 7 of 21 mourning doves by the widemouth gallon jar technique of Couch (1961). One female and two male M. pusilla and both S. podopostyla were transferred immediately from the jar to a fly-proof plastic cage that contained six penraised, 8-week-old bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus). In September 1961 seven M. pusilla were captured from 6 of 37 mourning doves by the same method, and three male and two female flies were transferred to a plastic cage that contained two mourning doves (Zenaidura macroura). Transfer of the fly was made from the jar to a polyethylene bag; the bag was then everted inside the cage and the fly was released. Two of the flies were transferred immediately in the field, two were placed in the cage after a period of 1 hr, and one fly after 4 hr. One male fly was lost in the process of transferring the fly to the cage a a second male fly died before transfer was attempted. The cage (Fig. 1) was constructed of ,6 inch Plexiglas cut and cemented to form a box. Ventilation openings on two sides and the top were covered with brass strainer cloth attached to the plastic with household cement (DuCo). The water box was covered with a plastic plate with a hole in the top large enough for the head of the bird, and the food box was protected from scratching activities by four plastic rods across the top of the box. A 2-inch strip cut at a 450 angle from the front wall formed the front of the removable tray. The cage as well as the tray had a bottom. A wood perch was added to the cage to reduce perching Received for publication 4 May 1962.