Original paper
Ecology and Evolution of Flower-Breeding Pomace Flies of New Guinea (Diptera: Drosophilidae) abb:
Carson, Hampton L.; Okada Toyohi,
Entomologia Generalis Volume 8 Number 1 (1982), p. 13 - 16
1 references
published: Dec 15, 1982
DOI: 10.1127/entom.gen/8/1982/13
ArtNo. ESP146000801001, Price: 29.00 €
Abstract
Compared with the rest of the world, the Drosophilidae of the great tropical island of New Guinea are barely known. That this fauna has been neglected is most unfortunate since preliminary surveys have indicated that generic diversity in this familia is as great or greater in New Guinea than anywhere else in the world [Okada 1970, Carson & Okada 1981]. Accordingly, it is hard to avoid the suggestion that this region may have been a major center for the evolution of the family. Systematic treatment of the Drosophilidae is based largely on the foundation laid by Sturtevant’s work 11921, 19421 which dealt largely with the Drosophilidae of the New World. Generic diagnoses of some New Guinea forms are difficult to reconcile with current systematics in the family. In a recent review, Throckmorton 119751 has suggested that the origin of the family took place in the old-world tropics. Accordingly, further exploration of the systematics of the Drosophilidae of New Guinea, the Oriental Region and Africa may provide basic systematic clarifications of great interest. During the latter half of 1977, the authors of this report made extensive collections of Drosophilidae in the Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea, an area located in the NE’ part of the Island. Collections were made from sea level near Lae to about 2200 m altitude in the interior on Mt Kaindi, using a wide variety of collecting techniques. One of the latter was the collection of specimens from various kinds of inflorescences. A considerable number of new flower-associated species, which are not attracted to bait, were discovered by aspirating specimens directly. The details of the insect-flower relationships have been reported in 2 papers [Carson & Okada 1980, Okada & Carson 1980]. Flowers and inflorescences from nature were brought to the laboratory and examined under the binocular microscope for pre-adult stages; adults were reared out of these substrates. These researches not only revealed the presence of a large number of undescribed species but also indicated that the flower niche is an unexpectedly rich breeding site, especially for species of Drosophila Fallen 1823 (subgenus Scaptodrosophila Duda 1923). This report outlines the basic ecology of the fauna associated with two genera of host plants belonging to the family Araceae: Colocasia Schott 1832, and Alocasia Neck 1790.