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Description of the Third-Stage Larva and Puparium of Platycheirus (Carposcalis) chalconota (Philippi) (Diptera: Syrphidae) with New Information About the Trophic Interactions and Larval Habitats

  • Systematics, Morphology and Physiology
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Abstract

In this study, the third-stage larva and puparium of the copper-backed fly, Platycheirus (Carposcalis) chalconota (Philippi, 1865) are fully described using stereomicroscopy and scanning electron microscopy from material collected in peach orchards of central-west Argentina. The immature stages of P. chalconota were compared with the third-stage larva and puparium of the best-studied species in the genus Platycheirus scutatus (Meigen, 1822); as well as with the only known Carposcalis immature stages description available for the Neotropical region namely Platycheirus stegnus (Say, 1829). New data on trophic interactions and larval habitats are given: P. chalconota larvae were found feeding on the aphid’s species Uroleucon sonchi (Linnaeus, 1767) (large sow thistle aphid) and Hyperomyzus lactucae (Linnaeus, 1758) (blackcurrant-sow thistle aphid) in low vegetation as Sonchus oleraceus (common sow thistle); the species was also found feeding on Myzus persicae (Sulzer, 1776) (green peach aphid) in high vegetation as Prunus persicae (L.) Stokes (Peach trees). The third larval stage and puparium of P. chalconota are described and illustrated for the first time improving substantially the knowledge about the immature stages and natural history of Neotropical Platycheirus, constituting also a baseline for future comparative morphological studies. Despite the efficiency of P. chalconota in the biological control of pests has not been assessed, we think that relevant data presented here can be used in pest management of peach orchards and suggest P. chalconota as an excellent candidate for future studies on the life cycle, prey consumption, efficiency, artificial rearing, and its potential importance as pollinators of Peach crops.

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Acknowledgements

We thank María Silvina Lassa (MEByM-Conicet) for providing technical assistance with SEM and Gerardo Meli for providing access to the sampling site.

Funding

This work was funded by the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET, PICT Roig 1539).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Entomología, IADIZA CONICET, Mendoza, Argentina

    Guillermo Pablo López-García & Sergio Alberto Roig-Juñet

  2. Instituto de Biología Animal (IBA), Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina

    Sergio Alberto Roig-Juñet

  3. Department of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resources, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain

    Celeste Pérez-Bañón & Santos Rojo

  4. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Junín, Mendoza, Argentina

    Emilia Mazzitelli

  5. Grupo de Entomología, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia

    Augusto León Montoya

  6. Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversitätswandels, Bonn, Germany

    Ximo Mengual

Authors
  1. Guillermo Pablo López-García
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  2. Sergio Alberto Roig-Juñet
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  3. Celeste Pérez-Bañón
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  4. Emilia Mazzitelli
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  5. Augusto León Montoya
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  6. Santos Rojo
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  7. Ximo Mengual
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Contributions

Conceptualization: GP López-García, C Pérez-Bañón, S Rojo, and X Mengual. Investigation and methodology: GP López-García, SA Roig-Juñet, and E Mazzitelli. Writing—original draft: GP López-García. Writing—review and editing: X Mengual, AL Montoya, and GP López-García. Funding acquisition and supervision: SA Roig-Juñet.

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Correspondence to Guillermo Pablo López-García.

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López-García, G.P., Roig-Juñet, S.A., Pérez-Bañón, C. et al. Description of the Third-Stage Larva and Puparium of Platycheirus (Carposcalis) chalconota (Philippi) (Diptera: Syrphidae) with New Information About the Trophic Interactions and Larval Habitats. Neotrop Entomol 51, 81–98 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-021-00908-9

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