Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-02T23:42:03.305Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

NEW OR LITTLE KNOWN FEEDING HABITS IN EMPIDIDAE (DIPTERA)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

J. A. Downes  and
S. M. Smith
J. A. Downes
Affiliation:
Entomology Research Institute, Canada Department of Agriculture, Ottawa
S. M. Smith
Affiliation:
Entomology Research Institute, Canada Department of Agriculture, Ottawa
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Most Empididae are predators on living insects, but a few instances of other feeding habits have been discovered. It is shown that Anthalia bulbosa (Ocydromiinae) eats the pollen of several flowers, and other possible cases of pollen-eating in Ocydromiinae and Empidinae are discussed. Micropborus obscurus (Empidinae) feeds on dead insects trapped in spiders’ webs, in agreement with Laurence’s finding for M. crassipes; and several reports of Clinoceratinae feeding on dead insects at the water’s edge are assembled. This diversity of feeding habit finds a parallel in Ceratopogonidae.In Empididae the protein-rich meal, whether of insect prey, dead insects, or dead pollen, is taken in typical cases by both males and females, as would be expected on systematic grounds. The sexual differentiation of hunting and feeding habits (males hunting, perhaps not feeding; females non-hunting, receiving prey by transfer at mating) is a specialized feature restricted to the Empis–Hilara–Rhamphomyia group (Empidinae).

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 101 , Issue 4 , April 1969 , pp. 404 - 408
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1969

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Downes, J. A. 1955. The food habits and description of Atrichopogon pollinivorus sp. n. (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Trans. R. ent. Soc. Lond. 106: 439–453.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Downes, J. A.. 1958. The feeding habits of biting flies and their significance in classification. A. Rev. Ent. 3: 249–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Downes, J. A.. 1969. The swarming and mating flight of Diptera. A. Rev. Ent. 14: 271–298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamm, A. H. 1933. The epigamic behaviour and courtship of three species of Empididae. Entomologist's mon. Mag. 69: 113–117.Google Scholar
Knuth, P. 1898–1905. Handbuch der Blütenbiologie. Vols. 1–3. Engelmann, Leipzig.Google Scholar
Laurence, B. R. 1948. Observations on Microphorus crassipes Macquart (Dipt., Empididae). Entomologist's mon. Mag. 84: 282–283.Google Scholar
Laurence, B. R.. 1953 a. On the feeding habits of Clinocera (Wiedemannia) bistigma Curtis (Diptera: Empididae). Proc. R. ent. Soc. Lond. (A) 28: 139–144.Google Scholar
Laurence, B. R.. 1953 b. Observations on Hemerodromia unilineata Zett. (Dipt. Emp.). Entomologist's Rec. J. Var. 65: 299–300.Google Scholar
Lindroth, C. 1931. Die Insektenfauna Islands und ihrer Probleme. Zool. Bidrag, Uppsala 13: 105–599.Google Scholar
Lovell, J. H. 1898. Three fluvial flowers and their visitors. Asa Grey Bulletin, Takoma Park (D.C.) 6: 60–65.Google Scholar
Melander, A. L. 1927. Diptera. Fam. Empididae. Genera Insectorum, Fasc. 185. Wytsman, P. (ed.), Desmet-Verteneuil, Bruxelles.Google Scholar
Peterson, B. V. 1960. Notes on some natural enemies of Utah black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae). Can. Ent. 92: 266–274.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peterson, B. V., and Davies, D. M.. 1960. Observations on some insect predators of black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) of Algonquin Park, Ontario. Can. J. Zool. 38: 9–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Porsch, O. 1966. Insekten als Blütenbesucher. Z. angew. Ent. 57: 1–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poulton, E. B. 1907. Predaceous insects and their prey. Trans. ent. Soc. Lond. 1906: 323–409.Google Scholar
Poulton, E. B.. 1913. Empidae and their prey in relationship to courtship. Entomologist's mon. Mag. 49: 177–180.Google Scholar
Richards, O. W. 1927. Sexual selection and allied problems in the insects. Biol. Rev. 2: 298–360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tuomikoski, R. 1939. Beobachtungen über das Schwärmen und die Kopulation einiger Empididen (Dipt.). Ann. ent. fenn. 5: 1–30.Google Scholar
Tuomikoski, R.. 1952. Ueber die Nahrung der Empididen-Imagines (Dipt.) in Finnland. Ann. ent. fenn. 18: 170–181.Google Scholar
Vaillant, F. 1960. Quelques Empididae Atalantinae. Contribution à l'étude de leur habitat et de leurs adaptations. Verh. XI Int. Kongr. Ent. 1: 193–197.Google Scholar
Wirth, W. W., and Stone, A.. 1956. Aquatic Diptera. In Usinger, R. L. (ed.), Aquatic insects of California, pp. 372–482. University of California Press, Berkeley.CrossRefGoogle Scholar