Diptera - Fruit flies

Campiglossa albiceps (Loew)

Photograph by Jeffrey Lotz - FDACS/DPI

Kingdom:	Phylum:	Class:	Order:	Family:
Animalia	Arthropoda	Insecta	Diptera	Tephritidae
Animals	Arthropods	Insects	Flies	Fruit flies

SPECIES DESCRIPTION

Size: Approximately 6 mm from antennae to tip of wings.
Wing pattern: Numerous large and small, round, clear spots on a dark background.
Body color: Head and legs yellowish, thorax and abdomen gray with black spots.
Oviscape: Yellowish to reddish-brown, approximately 0.7 mm long, tapered to a blunt tip.

 Photographs:

 Campiglossa albiceps, Adult, The Purchase, August 2002, Photograph by Jeffrey Lotz - FDACS/DPI.

Similar species:

 No other species of Campiglossa have been found in GSMNP. Other mottled-wing tephritids such as Euaresta, Neotephritis, and Tephritis are superficially similar.

DISTRIBUTION:
(GSMNP in green, localized records in some states shown as red circles)

Widespread in northern half of US into Alaska and Canada. In Tenneessee and North Carolina apparently restricted to Appalachian Mountain region.

 

 

 In Park:

The Purchase. Also previous records from Clingmans Dome, Andrews Bald, and Newfound Ridge (Blanc 1995).

 

 HOST PLANTS:

 Various species of asters have been reported as hosts for this species. To date no specific host has been located in GSMNP.

 NATURAL HISTORY

 Habitat:

 Open sunny old fields, grassy balds, and meadows at higher elevations.

Phenology

 Little information available. Probably multivoltine with larvae feeding in flowers of asters. Adults collected June through early September.

 Breeding and Courtship:

 Not observed in GSMNP. Described for populations in Ohio by Novak & Foote (1968).

 Oviposition and Immature Stages:

 Not observed in GSMNP. Described for populations in Ohio by Novak & Foote (1968).

 Predators and Parasites:

 Not observed in GSMNP. Pteromalidae (Hymenoptera) larval-pupal endoparasites and hymenopteran larval ectoparasites have been reported in Ohio (Novak & Foote 1968).

 Community Ecology:

 Not observed in GSMNP. Coleoptera and Lepidoptera larvae co-occur in host plant populations where C. albiceps is present in Ohio (Novak & Foote 1968).

 CONSERVATION BIOLOGY:

Populations of this fly depend on maintenance of its host plant populations, which, in turn, require regular disturbances to maintain open meadows and edges along forests and roadsides.

 Special Protection Status:

- Rangewide: None

- In Park: All plants and animals are protected within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Collection requires a permit which is usually granted only for research or educational purposes.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

 Text:

Gary J. Steck, Ph.D., Florida State Collection of Arthropods, Gainesville
Bruce D. Sutton, Florida State Collection of Arthropods, Gainesville

Photographs:

Jeffrey Lotz, Division of Plant Industry, Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Gainesville
Gary J. Steck, Ph.D., Florida State Collection of Arthropods, Gainesville

Web Page Development:

Bruce D. Sutton, Florida State Collection of Arthropods, Gainesville

REFERENCES

Foote, R. H., F. L. Blanc, and A. L. Norrbom. 1993. Handbook of the fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) of America north of Mexico. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, 571 pp.
Blanc, F. L. 1995. Accumulated collection data on the Tephritidae of North America north of Mexico. Unpublished database. Part of data used for distribution maps in Foote et al. 1993.
Novak, J.A. and B.A. Foote. 1968. Biology and immature stages of fruit flies: Paroxyna albiceps (Diptera: Tephritidae). Journal Kansas Entomological Society 41: 108-119.

GLOSSARY

ectoparasite - A parasite that feeds externally on its host.
endoparasite - A parasite that feeds internally in its host.
multivoltine - Having more than one generation per year.
oviposition - The act of laying eggs.
oviscape - The hardened sheath enclosing the needle-like ovipositor, or egg-laying structure, of female tephritid flies.
puparium - The hardened, cocoon-like structure, unique to Diptera, which develops from the cast 3rd instar skin, within which metamorphosis from pupa to adult takes place.

Last Updated: October 10, 2002