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Dipterous larval endoparasitoids of the African honey bee subspecies Apis mellifera

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#1 ·
I was fortunate enough to be at the University of Florida Honey Bee Research and Extension Lab when they made this discovery.
Dipterous larval endoparasitoids of the
African honey bee subspecies Apis mellifera
capensis Esch. and Apis mellifera scutellata Lep.
(Hymenoptera, Apidae)
J.M. Cicero & J.D. Ellis
To cite this article: J.M. Cicero & J.D. Ellis (2017): Dipterous larval endoparasitoids of the
African honey bee subspecies Apis mellifera capensis Esch. and Apis mellifera scutellata Lep.
(Hymenoptera, Apidae), Journal of Apicultural Research
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00218839.2017.1323837
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Dipterous larval endoparasitoids of the African honey bee subspecies Apis mellifera
capensis Esch. and Apis mellifera scutellata Lep. (Hymenoptera, Apidae)
J.M. Cicero* and J.D. Ellis
Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
(Received 26 November 2016; accepted 24 April 2017)
Six large, late instar larvae of, possibly, two species of dipterous endoparasitoids were found, one each, inside the
abdomen of six out of 2200 South African honey bees. Four specimens had very large, round, black, posterior spiracles
resembling those of Rondaniooestrus apivorus (Tachinidae), the only known tachinid bee endoparasitoid. However, the
ecdysial scars of the spiracles had different diameters. The spiracular morphology of the other two specimens were in
marked contrast to the four – both had two small, paired, spicate, cone-shaped, posterior spiracles. These two are
considered to be the same species. Pictures of key features are provided, but inasmuch as there are no modern,
rigorous works on identification of these larvae, the four cannot be concluded to belong to R. apivorus, and the two
cannot be assumed to belong to Tachinidae. Their occurrence relative to the hive’s sampled population was very low,
however, inasmuch as the honey bee hosts were alive and in position to interact orally with other members of the hive
at capture, and since many tachinids are known to be polyphagous, their potential to serve as transmitters of disease
pathogens is briefly discussed.
Larvas de dı´ptero endoparasitoide de la subespecie Africana de Apis mellifera capensis Esch. y Apis
mellifera scutellata Lep. (Hymenoptera, Apidae)
Seis grandes larvas en u´ltimo estadı´o de, posiblemente, dos especies de dı´ptero endoparasitoide fueron encontradas,
por separado, dentro del abdomen de seis de las 2200 abejas de la miel sudafricanas estudiadas. Cuatro de los seis
especı´menes poseı´an espira´culos posteriores grandes, redondos y ******, con cierto parecido a los de Rondaniooestrus
apivorus (Tachinidae), que es el u´nico tachı´nido conocido endoparasitoide de abeja. Sin embargo, el dia´metro de las 10
suturas ecdisiales fue diferente. La morfologı´a espiracular de los otros dos especı´menes contrasto´ con la de los otros
cuatro – ambos presentaban dos pequen˜os espira´culos posteriores emparejados, con forma co´ nica. Las dos larvas esta´n
consideradas como individuos de la misma especie. Se proporcionan ima´genes de los rasgos clave, pero en tanto que
no se publiquen trabajos nuevos y rigurosos sobre la identificacio´n de estas larvas, no se puede concluir que las cuatro
pertenezcan a R. apivorus, y no se puede asumir que las otras dos pertenezcan a Tachinidae. Su ocurrencia relativa en
la poblacio´n muestreada de la colmena fue muy baja, sin embargo, en tanto que las abejas hospedadoras estaban vivas y
con capacidad para interactuar oralmente con otros miembros de la colmena, y ya que muchos tachı´nidos son conocidos
como polı´fagos, su potencial como transmisores de pato´genos es brevemente discutida.
 
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