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Food utilization of aphidophagous hoverfly larvae (Diptera: Syrphidae, Chamaemyiidae) on herbaceous plants in an urban habitat

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Ecological Research

Abstract

We examined food utilization in a community of aphidophagous hoverfly larvae (Diptera: Syrphidae and Chamaemyiidae) in open lands in an urban habitat in central Japan for 3 years. The community consisted of 17 hoverfly species feeding on 20 aphid species occurring on 14 species of dominant herbaceous plants. In terms of larval prey preference, the dominant eight species of hoverfly were categorized into three groups: a polyphagous ‘generalist’ group consisting of four species,Episyrphus balteatus, Betasyrphus serarius, Syrphus vitripennis andSphaerophoria sp.; an oligophagous ‘specialist’ group consisting of three species,Metasyrphus hakiensis, Dideoides latus andParagus hemorrhous; andLeucopis puncticornis, which showed a preference for two aphid species on the plantTorilis scabra. The prey aphids of the second group have behavioral or morphological defense mechanisms that are effective for preventing attacks by generalist hoverflies; two prey aphids are aggressive toward generalist predators and the others are protected by ant-attendance. The specialist hoverflies seem to be adapted to overcome these defense mechanisms. The prey ranges overlapped little between the generalist and the specialist groups, while those within the generalist group overlapped greatly.

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Author notes

  1. Yoshihiro Tatematsu

    Present address: Fushiki Office, Nagoya Plant Protection Station, Fushiki, 933-01, Takaoka, Japan

  2. Yosiaki Itô

    Present address: School of Arts and Sciences, Okinawa University, Kokuba, 902, Naha, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Applied Entomology, School of Agricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Chikusa, 464-01, Nagoya, Japan

    Masayuki Mizuno, Takao Itioka, Yoshihiro Tatematsu & Yosiaki Itô

Authors
  1. Masayuki Mizuno
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  2. Takao Itioka
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  3. Yoshihiro Tatematsu
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  4. Yosiaki Itô
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Mizuno, M., Itioka, T., Tatematsu, Y. et al. Food utilization of aphidophagous hoverfly larvae (Diptera: Syrphidae, Chamaemyiidae) on herbaceous plants in an urban habitat. Ecol. Res. 12, 239–248 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02529453

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02529453

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