Scaptomyza

Magnacca, Karl N., Foote, David & O’Grady, Patrick M., 2008, A review of the endemic Hawaiian Drosophilidae and their host plants, Zootaxa 1728, pp. 1-58 : 28-29

other Scaptomyza

Only a few of the remaining Scaptomyza subgenera have rearing records. The subgenus Exalloscaptomyza is highly specialized on the ephemeral flowers of morning glory ( Ipomoea , Convolvulaceae ). This is a habitat utilized by other continental drosophilids, including D. floricola which has been introduced to Hawai‘i. Exalloscaptomyza females are unusual in laying a single, well-developed egg or first instar larva ( Kambysellis & Heed, 1971) and have among the shortest development times of all Hawaiian Drosophilidae ( Heed, 1968) , both adaptations to a short-lived substrate.

Titanochaeta has taken an unusual path as a predator of spider egg sacs. The pointed, sclerotized ovipositor they use to pierce the sac is characteristic of the group. Although a fair number of them have been reared, including 6 of the 11 species, little is known of their habits and they are uncommon in collections. Predation is also found in other drosophilid groups, especially the Steganinae , but rarely in Drosophila or Scaptomyza ( Ashburner, 1981) , although the Pisona– breeding Elmomyza are also predators.

The only other Scaptomyza subgenus with a moderate number of rearing records is Tantalia , which breed largely on leaves but do not appear to be host-specific, even within a species. Bunostoma has too few rearing records to draw even preliminary conclusions, and only one of the 8 unplaced species originally described as Drosophila but probably belonging to Scaptomyza ( D. vinnula ) has been reared. The other Hawaiian Scaptomyza subgenera – Alloscaptomyza , Celidosoma , Engiscaptomyza , Grimshawomyia , and Rosenwaldia – lack any data at all.