Functional, evolutionary and ecological aspects of feeding-related mouthpart specializations in parasitoid flies

This paper considers mouthpart specializations for feeding among dipteran parasitoids, and places them in both an evolutionary and an ecological context. Parasitoid flies display specializations in relation to feeding on solidified honeydew, removing floral nectar from long, narrow, tubular corollas...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Biological journal of the Linnean Society 1998-04, Vol.63 (4), p.495-535
Main Authors:	Gilbert, Francis, Jervis, Mark
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	comparative morphology Diptera evolution -phylogeny foraging host feeding Hymenoptera mating system flower visiting mouthparts nectar feeding -honeydew feeding nutritional physiology parasitoids pollen feeding reproductive strategies sexual dimorphism
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Summary:	This paper considers mouthpart specializations for feeding among dipteran parasitoids, and places them in both an evolutionary and an ecological context. Parasitoid flies display specializations in relation to feeding on solidified honeydew, removing floral nectar from long, narrow, tubular corollas, and feeding on host materials. No species have as yet been identified which display particular specializations for pollen‐feeding, but we consider it likely that they exist. Marked sexual dimorphism in mouthpart structure appears to occur only in the Phoridae. Mapping the occurrence of apparatus for removing floral nectar from long, narrow, tubular corollas (‘concealed nectar extraction apparatus’ or CNEA) onto published cladograms for Diptera shows that the evolution of such feeding apparatus has occurred many times independendy. In contrast to parasitoid Hymenoptera, possession of CNEA is more often an autapomorphy for taxa above subfamily level in apparently two cases for superfamilies (Acroceroidea and Nemestrinoidea). We conclude that whereas in parasitoid wasps the pattern of occurrence of CNEA is mainly attributable to ecological expediency, in parasitoid flies phylogenetic history has also played a major role. We discuss the fitness advantages of the different feeding specializations among parasitoids generally (i.e. both Diptera and Hymenoptera) in relation to various ecophysiological factors.
ISSN:	0024-4066 1095-8312