Biology:Compsilura concinnata

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Short description: Species of fly

Compsilura concinnata
Compsilura concinnata 1.jpg
Compsilura concinnata
Scientific classification edit
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Tachinidae
Subfamily: Exoristinae
Tribe: Blondeliini
Genus: Compsilura
Species:
C. concinnata
Binomial name
Compsilura concinnata
(Meigen, 1824)[1]
Synonyms
  • Compsilura serriventris (Rondani, 1859)[2]
  • Machaeraea serriventris Rondani, 1859[2]
  • Tachina concinnata Meigen, 1824[1]

Compsilura concinnata (tachinid fly; order Diptera) is a parasitoid native to Europe that was introduced to North America in 1906 to control the population of an exotic forest, univoltine, spongy moth named Lymantria dispar. It is an endoparasitoid of larvae and lives with its host for most of its life. Eventually the parasitoid ends up killing the host and occasionally eating it. It attacks over 200 host species, mainly insects from the Orders: Coleoptera, Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera. Since this parasite has the ability to attack many different types of hosts, the organism has spilled over from the intended forest systems into other areas, like agricultural fields, affecting cabbage pests including the cabbage looper (Trichoplusia); the cabbage worm (Pieris rapae); and even other invasive species such as the brown-tail moth. However, it also attacks native, non-pest insects such as the Cecropia moth and American moon moth.[3][4][5]

Morphology

Larvae are creamy colored and have black mouth hooks with three anal hooks. Pupae, the life stage in insects when undergoing transformation, are brown, 6.5 mm long and oval shape. Adult flies look very similar in its size/shape to the house-fly. Adults have a white face and a thorax containing four black stripes and reach up to 7.5 mm long.[3]

Life cycle

C. concinnata is ovoviviparous. In a year, approximately 3–4 generations occur (multivoltine) with an adult life span of 5–22 days. The parasitoid larvae typically survive winters in host larvae; so since the spongy moths overwinter as an egg, it has to find alternative hosts to overwinter in their larvae. After mating has occurred, the adult female looks for host larvae. If a host meets her satisfaction for her offspring, she attaches on the host’s back using her anal hooks, punctures the integument of the host with a piercing structure on her abdomen and injects a single larva into the host's midgut or body cavity. The female produces about 100 larvae. She will sometimes attack the same host multiple times. If she injects a larva directly into the host's body cavity, it will quickly migrate to the midgut and penetrate it where three larvae stages occur. Compsilura concinnata remains a larva for only 10–17 days while waiting for its host's pupation when it will emerge from its host to pupate on another substrate or soil.[3]

The larva typically kill its host in about 10 days. After emerging from a host, the white maggot forms a smooth, reddish brown case called a puparium around itself. During the next stage of its life cycle, the larva will molt into a pupa inside of the puparium.[6]

What makes this parasitoid successful on numerous host-species is its flexible life cycle. It has the ability to alter its cycle based on the host it inhabits.

Impact after introduction to North America

Compsilura concinnata has a negative impact on many species of Lepidoptera native to North America.[citation needed]

  1. The fly is multivoltine while the main target for its introduction, the spongy moth is univoltine.[7]
  2. Since the host spongy moth overwinters as eggs, the parasitoid fly found non-target species in which to overwinter.
  3. Due to its flexible life cycle, this parasitoid can parasitize more than 150 species of butterfly and moth in North America.[8][9]

Parasitism

Although C. concinnata was introduced to North America to control the spongy moth population, it typically only parasitizes less than 5% of the spongy moths during an outbreak.[10] However the percentage of infected moths does increase as the populations tend to decline. As a result of the parasitoid's ability to attack many other species, it is not always an effective parasitoid of spongy moths compared to other parasites.[10]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Meigen, J.W. (1824). Systematische Beschreibung der bekannten europäische n zweiflugeligen Insekten. Hamm: Vierter Theil. Schulz-Wundermann. pp. xii + 428 pp., pls. 33–41. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 Rondani, Camillo (1856). Dipterologiae Italicae Prodromus. Vol: I. Genera italica ordinis Dipterorum ordinatim disposita et distincta et in familias et stirpes aggregata. Parmae [= Parma].: A. Stocchi. pp. 226 + [2]. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/34067#page/9/mode/1up. Retrieved 17 October 2020. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Compsilura concinnata". University of Minnesota. 2009. http://www.vegedge.umn.edu/vegpest/beneficials/Comps.htm. 
  4. Chandler, Peter J. (1998). Checklists of Insects of the British Isles (New Series) Part 1: Diptera. Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects. 12. London: Royal Entomological Society of London. pp. 1–234. ISBN 0-901546-82-8. 
  5. Mitra, Bulganin; Sharma, R.M.. "Checklist Of Indian Tachinid Flies (Insecta: Diptera: Tachinidae)". Jabalpur. pp. 1–18. http://zsi.gov.in/checklist/Indian%20Tachinid%20flies.pdf. 
  6. Shelly Kellogg (July 3, 2002). "Parasitism of silk moths at Sweet Briar College". Honors Journal. Sweet Briar College. http://www2.sbc.edu/honors/HJ_2002/kellogg.htm. 
  7. Julian Jarnagin Culver (1919). "Study of Compsilura concinnata, an imported tachinid parasite of the gipsy moth and the brown-tail moth". United States Department of Agriculture Bulletin 766: 1–27. 
  8. Paul H. Arnaud, Jr. (1978). A host-parasite catalog of North American Tachinidae (Diptera). Miscellaneous Publication 1319. United States Department of Agriculture. pp. 1–860. https://books.google.com/books?id=29-ltt3cyFEC. 
  9. John S. Strazanac; Christine D. Plaugher; Toby R. Petrice; Linda Butler (2001). "New Tachinidae (Diptera) host records of eastern North American forest canopy Lepidoptera. Baseline data in a Bacillus thuriengiensis variety kurstaki nontarget study". Journal of Economic Entomology 94 (5): 1128–1134. doi:10.1603/0022-0493-94.5.1128. PMID 11681675. 
  10. 10.0 10.1 Susan Mahr (September 1999). "Compsilura concinnata, parasitoid of gypsy moth". Midwest Biological Control News Online (University of Wisconsin–Madison) 6 (9). http://www.entomology.wisc.edu/mbcn/kyf609.html. Retrieved February 8, 2011. 

Wikidata ☰ Q13495364 entry