Diptera.info

Posted by blowave on 30-05-2013 19:44

Hi,

I had a Robin's nest in my garden, three of the five young died. After the remainder fledged I checked the nest and found three of these pupae. I read that Protocalliphora azurea parasitise nests but can't find any pupae photos. They must have either hatched by now or been eaten.

21st May near Lincoln UK.

Janet

Posted by blowave on 04-06-2013 11:09

atylotus wrote:
Looks more like a larva.
and what about Piophilidae?

When I first saw them they had a sort of head which they stuck out and wriggled to cover. The next day they barely moved but one did manage to move partly into the nest material and I didn't see the 'head' so thought they were at the stage of pupating. The nest had been disturbed after that. probably by a bird.

I should have put the size which I think was around 8mm, wouldn't that be too big for Piophilidae?

Posted by Nosferatumyia on 04-06-2013 13:24

Neottiophila, the bird nest parasite of the Piophilidae, is not so small, guess, it must have a pupa c. 5-7 mm long. This your "pupa" is actually a prepupa, a larva just befor pupation.

But, otherwise, sorry, I cannot tell, what's this.

Posted by blowave on 04-06-2013 13:58

Nosferatumyia wrote:
Neottiophila, the bird nest parasite of the Piophilidae, is not so small, guess, it must have a pupa c. 5-7 mm long. This your "pupa" is actually a prepupa, a larva just befor pupation.

But, otherwise, sorry, I cannot tell, what's this.

Thank you Valery, the nest is on a concrete slab but otherwise scattered. I had thought they would have hatched by now or been eaten by a bird. I can investigate to see what I can find, the bird carcasses look dried now. How long would it take them to hatch?

I can only find one example here of Neottiophila.

http://www.dipter...#post_6810

It's Neottiophilum?

http://www.dipter...lbum_id=37

Posted by blowave on 04-06-2013 14:46

Andrzej wrote:
http://www.miiz.w...tr49-2.pdf - an abstract on the paper on Neottiophilum puparium by Draber-Monko. Andrzej

Are you able to get the abstract Andrzej?

We're in luck, I found all three pupae! I have taken photos but if anyone wants them I will gladly send them, or alternatively advice on how to keep these so I can see what hatches. I don't think I would kill them though.

Posted by blowave on 05-06-2013 13:05

#11

I found a pdf with descriptions of the larvae and pupae of Neottiophilum praeustum.

When fully grown the larvae
are 10.5 mm. long and 2.8 mm across the middle. The anterior
portion of the body is narrow and pointed and the posterior is
wide. The segmentation is not well marked and is partly hidden
by accessory protuberances and transverse folds. The head and
mouth are adapted for the parasitic mode of life, quite unlike an
ordinary carrion-feeding blow-fly. When fully fed the larva may
become dormant and remain in the nest for some months before
pupation.

The pupa is blackish and retains the
characteristic shape of the larva, even the segmentation, and it is
thus easily recognisable from the pupa of Protocalliphora which
is smooth and like that of a blow-fly. The pupae remain in the
nest until the following spring when the flies emerge, usually in
March, April and May.

http://www.britis...mp;id=3183

The shape of the pre pupa larva is the reverse, the pupae are only slightly narrower at the posterior end. I will edit the photos and post them soon. They don't seem to be Protocalliphora either.

Posted by andrzej grzywacz on 13-06-2013 21:49

#15

Your larva is indeed Protocalliphora. It can be P. azurea, but I am not able to identify species. On the first photo you can see characteristic ring of spines surrounding pseudocephalon at the bottom.

Posted by blowave on 13-06-2013 22:17

#16

andrzej grzywacz wrote:
Your larva is indeed Protocalliphora. It can be P. azurea, but I am not able to identify species. On the first photo you can see characteristic ring of spines surrounding pseudocephalon at the bottom.

Thank you Andrzej! We only have P. azurea. The pupae were still there when I looked yesterday.

http://www.dipter...p?id=13124