Diptera - Fruit flies

Dioxyna picciola Bigot

Gary R. Buckingham, Ph.D., USDA-ARS, Gainesville

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

SPECIES DESCRIPTION

Size: Small, approximately 3.5-4.5 mm long from antennae to tip of wings.
Wing pattern: Gray-brown background, sometimes pale, speckled with large hyaline areas.
Body color: Grayish background with golden pile.
Head: Longer than high, mouthparts geniculate.
Oviscape: black, relatively long and tapered, 0.5-0.7 mm long.

 Photographs:

 Dioxyna picciola, Adult female, Photograph by Gary R. Buckingham, Ph.D., USDA-ARS, Gainesville.

Similar species:

 No other species of Dioxyna are known from GSMNP. Should not be confused with any other species.

DISTRIBUTION:
(GSMNP in green)

Widespread throughout the US and beyond. One of the most common tephritids.

 

 

 In Park:

Cades Cove and The Purchase. A previous record from Indian Gap (Blanc 1995).

 

 HOST PLANTS:

 Numerous species of Asteraceae throughout its range. No specific hosts have been reported for GSMNP, though this species has been swept from non-flowering Bidens.

 NATURAL HISTORY

 Habitat:

 Open sunny fields, meadows, balds, and roadsides containing Asteraceae. Probably widespread throughout GSMNP wherever suitable habitat and hosts are found.

Phenology

 Adults are present during the summer and early fall in GSMNP. Presumed to be multivoltine.

 Breeding and Courtship:

 Not observed in GSMNP. Males and females probably rendezvous on their host plants.

 Oviposition and Immature Stages:

 Not recorded for GSMNP. Details of oviposition and larval feeding in seeds of Bidens pilosa in Florida was described by Needham (1948). Immature stages were described by Benjamin (1934) and Phillips (1946).

 Predators and Parasites:

 No information for GSMNP. Needham (1948) recorded several hymenopteran parasitoids of D. picciola in Florida.

 Community Ecology:

 No information for GSMNP. Needham (1948) noted that numerous insects in addition to D. picciola share flower heads of Bidens pilosa, including Xanthiciura insecta (Tephritidae), agromyzid flies, cecidomyiid flies, various moths, and their associated parasites.

 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:

Gary R. Buckingham, Ph.D., USDA-ARS, Gainesville.

Web Page Development:

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

 REFERENCES

Benjamin, F.H. 1934. Descriptions of some native trypetid flies with notes on their habits. USDA Technical Bulletin No. 401, 96 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, 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.
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.
Needham, J.G. 1948. Ecological notes on the insect population of the flower heads of Bidens pilosa. Ecological Monographs 18: 432-446.
Phillips, V. T. 1946. The biology and identification of trypetid larvae (Diptera: Tephritidae). American Entomol. Soc., Mem. No. 12, 161 pp + XVI plates.  

GLOSSARY

geniculate - Elbowed, bent in an obtuse angle.
hyaline - Clear or transparent.
oviposition - The act of laying eggs.
oviscape - The hardened sheath enclosing the needle-like ovipositor, or egg-laying structure, of female tephritid flies.
pile - dense mat of fine, hair-like setae.
multivoltine - Having several generations per year.

Last Updated: October 16, 2002