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What do Eumerus Meigen larvae feed on? New immature stages of three species (Diptera: Syrphidae) breeding in different plants

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Abstract

The genus Eumerus Meigen 1822 (Diptera: Syrphidae) is widely distributed in the Old World, though recently introduced into America, and their larvae feed on decaying vegetal material and/or inside underground storage organs of many plants, sometimes generating economic losses as pests. However, little is known about Eumerus larval cycles and their interactions with host plants. Here, immatures of three Eumerus species from different continents are described, noting their feeding habits and host plants. Larvae of Eumerus figurans Walker 1859 were obtained from Hawaiian cultured ginger roots; puparium of Eumerus alpinus Rondani 1857 originated from larvae collected in Asphodelus ramosus L. in France; puparia of Eumerus superbus Shannon 1927 were reared from larvae found in two Zamiaceae species from Australia. Mitochondrial COI sequences served for diagnosing E. figurans larvae. Optical and scanning electron microscopy were used to describe body features, head skeletons, anterior spiracles, pupal spiracles, and posterior respiratory processes. Overall, E. alpinus resembles E. nudus Loew 1848 immatures. Eumerus superbus has a remarkable morphology among all described immatures of the genus, being the only Eumerus reported from gymnosperms. Head skeleton of E. figurans suggests this species is a filtering one. Present findings show that larvae of Eumerus can be separated at the species level and that this genus is polyphagous, feeding on a wide range of plant tissues and taxa, including commercial species. This study emphasizes immature stages and breeding sites as important means to understand species life cycles and the interactions with their host plants and ecosystems.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Genevieve Walden for sharing her expertise and helping with botany-related questions and Scott Kinnee for his work in the molecular lab sequencing the specimens of Eumerus figurans.

Research data policy

All data generated and analyzed in this study are included within this published article.

Funding

This study is part of Gabriel J. Souba-Dols’ PhD thesis. His position at the University of Alicante (FPU-UA 2016), as well as that of Antonio Ricarte (Ref. UATAL05), are funded by the “Vicerrectorado de Investigación y Transferencia del Conocimiento.” Additionally, this research was partly funded by the Project PGC2018-095851-A-C65 of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro Iberoamericano de la Biodiversidad (CIBIO), University of Alicante, Carretera de San Vicente s/n, 03690, San Vicente del Raspeig, Alicante, Spain

    Gabriel J. Souba-Dols, Antonio Ricarte & Mª Ángeles Marcos-García

  2. California Department of Food and Agriculture, Plant Pest Diagnostics Branch, 3294 Meadowview Road, Sacramento, CA, 95832-1448, USA

    Martin Hauser

  3. Department of Zoology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland

    Martin Speight

Authors
  1. Gabriel J. Souba-Dols
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  2. Antonio Ricarte
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  3. Martin Hauser
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  4. Martin Speight
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  5. Mª Ángeles Marcos-García
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Contributions

Mª Ángeles Marcos-García and Antonio Ricarte contributed to the study conception and design of this paper. Material preparation and data collection and analysis were performed by Gabriel J. Souba-Dols. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Gabriel J. Souba-Dols, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors added relevant information and read, discussed, and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Gabriel J. Souba-Dols.

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Souba-Dols, G.J., Ricarte, A., Hauser, M. et al. What do Eumerus Meigen larvae feed on? New immature stages of three species (Diptera: Syrphidae) breeding in different plants. Org Divers Evol 20, 267–284 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13127-020-00437-0

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