Ogcodes | |
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Ogcodes zonatus | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Diptera |
Family: | Acroceridae |
Subfamily: | Ogcodinae |
Genus: | Ogcodes Latreille, 1796 |
Type species | |
Musca gibbosa | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Ogcodes is a cosmopolitan genus of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae. [2] About 90 species have been described for the genus. [3] [4] It is the most common and speciose genus in its family. [5] These flies are endoparasitoids of ground-dwelling entelegyne spiders. [2] [5]
Flies in this genus can be distinguished from other genera in the family Acroceridae by the following combination of characteristics:
Adult Ogcodes are small to medium in size, with rounded heads and abdomens. [7] They are often brown or black in color, with a pale horizontal band at the posterior edge of each abdominal tergite. [8]
Soon after mating, females lay their eggs around dead twigs. These eggs are brown or black in color, and usually under 0.35 millimeters in length. Larvae are endoparasitoids in spiders. Upon emerging, planidial larvae wait to come in contact with a host spider. If a host is not found, the larvae can move to nearby sites by springing into the air or moving similarly to an inchworm. If a host is found, the larva will typically enter it through the abdomen, or occasionally through the intersegmental membranes of the legs. Upon attaching to the inside of the host, the larva will molt twice at a rate that depends on the developmental pace of the host. [2] The site of attachment is in an air pocket between the lamellae of the spider's book lungs. [5] The third-instar larva will consume most of the host spider’s internal contents, then emerge by making a hole along the host’s epigastric furrow. [2] Evidence that acrocerid flies deliberately influence host behavior is limited, [9] but flies in this genus have been observed emerging shortly after their hosts create webbing and clinging to the new webbing using adhesives on their bodies. [2] One to three days after emerging, the larva pupates. Adults can be encountered around dead twigs, or in grassy, wet areas. They have not been observed feeding, though it is possible that the oral membrane in place of functioning mouthparts may be used to collect moisture from the air. Adults are thought to live for three to four weeks at maximum in nature. [2]
Larval Ogcodes have been documented developing in spiders from the following taxonomic families: [5]
Like many acrocerids, planidial Ogcodes tend to target hosts that wander or build webs on the ground. [2] Several species within the genus can develop in spiders from three or more different taxonomic families, namely O. adaptus , O. dispar , O. eugonatus , and O. pallidipennis . [5]
Ogcodes as a whole is cosmopolitan in distribution. Species richness in Ogcodes is highest in Australia and the Nearctic and Palearctic regions. Species in this genus have not been collected from deserts and certain islands, such as Madagascar and Iceland. The majority of species are found in only one geographic region, with the exceptions of O. pallidipennis , O. dispar , and O. guttatus . [2] Alongside Pterodontia , Ogcodes is one of the two acrocerid genera present in every zoogeographic region. [6]
Ogcodes is the only extant genus within the subfamily Ogcodinae. [7] Based on its morphology, the genus was previously placed within Acrocerinae. [6] While many species in Acrocerinae target haplogyne spiders, not a single species in Ogcodes does. [9] Despite sharing morphological characteristics with the acrocerid genus Pterodontia , such as having antennae located on the ventral surface of the head and reduced mouthparts, molecular data indicates that these two genera are not particularly closely related. [7] [10]
The genus is split into three subgenera: Ogcodes, Protogcodes and Neogcodes. Ogcodes is cosmopolitan in distribution, Protogcodes is endemic to Australia, and Neogcodes is restricted to the Nearctic. [2]
Subgenus Ogcodes Latreille, 1796
Subgenus ProtogcodesSchlinger, 1960 [2]
Subgenus NeogcodesSchlinger, 1960 [2]
The following species are synonyms:
Acrocerinae is a subfamily of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae. Their larvae are endoparasites of araneomorph spiders, with the exception of Carvalhoa appendiculata which can develop as ectoparasitoids on their host spiders. Traditionally, the subfamily included the genera now placed in Cyrtinae and Ogcodinae, but the subfamily in this sense was found to be polyphyletic and was split up in 2019.
Philopotinae is a subfamily of small-headed flies. They have an arched body shape, as well as enlarged postpronotal lobes that form a collar behind the head. Their larvae are endoparasites of araneomorph spiders in the subgroup Entelegynae.
Panopinae is a subfamily of small-headed flies (Acroceridae). Their larvae are endoparasites of spiders in the infraorder Mygalomorphae.
Coquena is a genus of small-headed fly found in Argentina and Chile. It was first established by Evert I. Schlinger in 2013.
Pialea is a genus of small-headed flies. It is known from South America.
Acrocera is a genus of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae.
Eulonchus halli is a species of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae. It was named after one of its original collectors, Jack C. Hall, who was also a colleague of the species's author, Evert I. Schlinger, at the University of California.
Eulonchus is a genus of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae. There are six described species in Eulonchus. The genus is found in North America. Adults have a metallic blue, green or sometimes purple coloration, giving them a jewel-like appearance. A common name for flies in the genus is the North American jewelled spider flies. Adults are also known as "sapphires" or "emeralds".
Pterodontia is a genus of small-headed flies. There are at least 20 described species in Pterodontia.
Ocnaea is a genus of small-headed flies. There are 20 described species in Ocnaea.
Archocyrtus is an extinct genus of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae. The genus is known from compression fossils from the Late Jurassic Karabastau Formation of Kazakhstan. The genus is the only member of the subfamily Archocyrtinae.
Burmacyrtus is an extinct genus of small-headed flies of uncertain placement. The genus is known from Upper Cretaceous fossils in amber from Myanmar. It contains only one species, Burmacyrtus rusmithi.
Carvalhoa is a genus of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae. The genus is endemic to Chile. It was originally known as Sphaerops, named by Rodolfo Amando Philippi in 1865. This name was found to be preoccupied by the reptile genus Sphaerops Gray, 1845, so it was renamed to Carvalhoa by Ahmet Ömer Koçak and Muhabbet Kemal in 2013. The genus is named after the Brazilian dipterist Claudio José Barros de Carvalho.
Philopota is a genus of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae. It is the type genus of the subfamily Philopotinae.
Ogcodes borealis is a species of small-headed flies. Hosts include spiders of the genus Pardosa as well as the species Schizocosa rovneri.
Apsona is a genus of small-headed flies. It contains only one species, Apsona muscaria, which is endemic to New Zealand. It is very similar to the North American species Eulonchus smaragdinus.
Sabroskya is a genus of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae. It is known from South Africa and Malawi. It is named after the American entomologist Curtis Williams Sabrosky.
Exetasis is a genus of small-headed flies. It is known from Brazil and Argentina.
Cyrtinae is a subfamily of the Acroceridae. Their larvae are endoparasites of araneomorph spiders in the subgroup Entelegynae.
Ogcodinae is a subfamily of the Acroceridae. Their larvae are endoparasites of araneomorph spiders in the subgroup Entelegynae.