title: Comments on the association of immatures of Hemerodromia (Diptera, Empididae) and Simulium (Diptera, Simuliidae), and first record of this association in the Atlantic Forest (Brazil).
abstract: Larvae of Empididae (Diptera) prey on black fly immatures and its pupae can be collected from pupal cases of Simuliidae (Diptera). The aim of our work was to report the second record of association between immatures of Empididae and Simuliidae in the Neotropical Region and the first for the Atlantic Forest (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). We collected 4982 pupae and exuviae of Simulium Latreille, (Diptera, Simuliidae) and found three with a pupa of Hemerodromia Meigen (Diptera, Empididae) inside. This shows that the use of black flies cocoons by dance flies occurs at extremely low frequencies, which might explain why this association is so rarely recorded. Our results are relevant for a better comprehension of the predator-prey relationship between these families.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Entomologia, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Quinta da Boa Vista s/n RJ, São Cristóvão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ CEP 20.9040-040, Brazil. Electronic address: O.sanchezmolina@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Óscar
authors.initials: Ó
authors.lastname: Sánchez Molina
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Entomologia, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Quinta da Boa Vista s/n RJ, São Cristóvão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ CEP 20.9040-040, Brazil.
authors.forename: Leonardo Henrique
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Gil-Azevedo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D065928:Forests; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000254:growth & development*; D007814:Larva / Q000235:genetics; D011679:Pupa / Q000254:growth & development; D012843:Simuliidae / Q000254:growth & development*
keywords: Black flies; Dance flies; Immatures; Neotropical Region; Rainforest