The first record of a fly of the family Milichiidae (Diptera) interacting with an ant of the genus Polyrhachis Smith, 1857(Hymenoptera: Formicidae).

Kalsum Yusah,Tom Fayle

doi:10.3897/bdj.2.e4168

Abstract

Flies in the family Milichiidae are often myrmecophilic. We document the first record of a fly from this family interacting with an ant of the genus Polyrhachis. In lowland riparian rainforest in Sabah, Malaysia, we observed a female of the genus Milichia following an ant of the species of P. illaudata, and repeatedly attempting to make close contact. Our observation suggests that the dipteran may have been attempting to feed kleptoparasitically from the Polyrhachis worker, since members of this ant genus often feed on liquid carbohydrate-rich food resources. This is the first time an interaction has been observed between a fly of this family and an ant of this widespread old world tropical genus.

Highlights

Milichid flies often interact with ants, with either adults feeding kleptoparasitically from foraging ant workers, or larvae feeding on detritus in the nest (Brake 1999, Wild and Brake 2009, Moser and Neff 1971)
On March 4th 2014, in an area of regularly inundated riparian forest 100m from the river (5.4115, 118.0395) close to the field centre, we observed an ant of the genus Polyrhachis traversing the top of a plastic sheet c. 50 cm in height, which was being used as a vertical barrier to trap amphibians on the forest floor during the field course
This is the first record of a fly in the family Milichiidae being associated with an ant in the genus Polyrhachis

Summary

Introduction

Milichid flies often interact with ants, with either adults feeding kleptoparasitically from foraging ant workers, or larvae feeding on detritus in the nest (Brake 1999, Wild and Brake 2009, Moser and Neff 1971). Due to the difficulties in observing these interactions, the full range of ant and fly taxa over which this interaction occurs is not clear. We present an observation of an interaction between a milichiid and a genus of ant not yet known to be targeted by this fly family

Materials and methods

Discussion