Euthycera chaerophylli ( Fabricius, 1798 )

Vala, Jean-Claude & Williams, Christopher D., 2015, Sciomyzidae Fallén, 1820 (Diptera) collected in the Mercantour National Park, France, Zoosystema 37 (4), pp. 611-619 : 616

Euthycera chaerophylli ( Fabricius, 1798)

Musca chaerophylli Fabricius, 1798: 565 .

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — 1 ♀, M09- SES2000 -T4-M1 ; 1 ♂, M10- CAI1400 -T3-M2 ; 1 ♀, M10- CAI1400 -T4-M1 ; 1 ♂, M11- LAR2000 - T3-M2 ; 2♂, M11- LAR2000 -T5-M1 ; 1♂, M11- LAR2000 -T5-M2. In addition, two specimens have been collected by sweeping in the

Vallon de la Minière, near Lac Long (2050-2060 m) on 31.VIII.2009, and were identified by Rozkošný (ATBI + M 2010).

DISTRIBUTION. — European: from Fennoscandia to southern Europe, including Corsica and Turkey.

COMMENTS

The habitats are mostly montane areas, humid deciduous forest, and open and swamp woodland. Only the egg and partially the first instar-larva were described by Vala (1989). Larval feeding behaviour is exceptional among the sciomyzids. In contrast to the other species attacking slugs, the larva completely penetrates into its host, without leaving its posterior disc and posterior spiracles exposed. Its location within the slug is still unclear. For breathing, the larva is probably situated near the slug’s pneumostome. Although the host remains alive for several weeks with the parasitoid larva inside, it does not survive beyond 45 days. Autopsy of dead or decaying individuals of the slug Deroceras reticulatum (O. F. Müller, 1774) revealed that the first-instar larvae had moulted to produce the second instar-larva, identifiable by the presence of the anterior spiracles, which are always absent in first-instar larvae ( Vala 1989). Trelka & Foote (1970) indicated that the second instar larva of this species was also obtained in the laboratory by Knutson. Rozkošný (1967) collected a puparium in the Czech Republic, from which a female emerged. The species is univoltine. The flight period runs from June to early September.