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Ogcodes

{{Short description|Genus of flies}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Acroceridae - Ogcodes zonatus (cf.).JPG

| image_caption = Ogcodes zonatus

| taxon = Ogcodes

| authority = Latreille, 1796

| type_species = Musca gibbosa

| type_species_authority = Linnaeus, 1758

| synonyms_ref = {{cite journal|first1=Christian R.|last1=González|first2=Mario|last2=Elgueta|first3=Francisco|last3=Ramirez|year=2018|title=A catalog of Acroceridae (Diptera) from Chile|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322594332|journal=Zootaxa|volume=4374|issue=3|pages=427–440|doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4374.3.6|pmid=29689809|access-date=2018-04-30|archive-date=2018-05-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180501004549/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322594332|url-status=live}}

| synonyms =

}}

Ogcodes is a cosmopolitan genus of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae.{{cite journal|last=Schlinger|first=Evert I.|year=1960|title=A Revision of the Genus Ogcodes Latreille with Particular Reference to Species of the Western Hemisphere|url=http://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/16690/1/USNMP-111_3429_1960.pdf|journal=Proceedings of the United States National Museum|volume=111|issue=3429|pages=227–336|doi=10.5479/si.00963801.111-3429.227|hdl=10088/16690|access-date=2018-03-18|archive-date=2018-03-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180318183746/https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/16690/1/USNMP-111_3429_1960.pdf|url-status=live}} About 90 species have been described for the genus.{{cite journal|first1=Jessica P.|last1=Gillung|first2=Shaun L.|last2=Winterton|year=2017|title=A review of fossil spider flies (Diptera: Acroceridae) with descriptions of new genera and species from Baltic Amber|journal=Journal of Systematic Palaeontology|volume=16|issue=4|pages=325–350|doi=10.1080/14772019.2017.1289566}}{{cite book |last1=Stubbs |first1=A. |last2=Drake |first2=M. |title=British Soldierflies and their Allies |date=2014 |publisher=British Entomological and Natural History Society |location=Wokingham |isbn=9781899935079 |pages=528 |edition=2}} It is the most common and speciose genus in its family. These flies are endoparasitoids of ground-dwelling entelegyne spiders.

Characteristics

Flies in this genus can be distinguished from other genera in the family Acroceridae by the following combination of characteristics:

  • Antennae positioned on the ventral surface of the head, slightly above the mouth
  • Tibiae lacking apical spurs
  • Eyes always holoptic
  • Short, rod-like antennal flagellum
  • Mouthparts hidden by a membrane{{cite book |last1=Schlinger |first1=Evert I. |title=Acroceridae |date=1981 |publisher=Agriculture Canada Research Branch, Ottawa |location=Manual of Nearctic Diptera |pages=575–588}}
  • Reduced wing venation

Adult Ogcodes are small to medium in size, with rounded heads and abdomens. They are often brown or black in color, with a pale horizontal band at the posterior edge of each abdominal tergite.{{cite web |title=Genus Ogcodes |url=https://bugguide.net/node/view/95507 |website=bugguide.net |publisher=Iowa State University |access-date=11 November 2023 |archive-date=19 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231119234150/https://bugguide.net/node/view/95507 |url-status=live }}

Life History

Soon after mating, females lay their eggs around dead twigs. These eggs are brown or black in color, and usually under 0.35 millimeters in length. Larvae are endoparasitoids in spiders. Upon emerging, planidial larvae wait to come in contact with a host spider. If a host is not found, the larvae can move to nearby sites by springing into the air or moving similarly to an inchworm. If a host is found, the larva will typically enter it through the abdomen, or occasionally through the intersegmental membranes of the legs. Upon attaching to the inside of the host, the larva will molt twice at a rate that depends on the developmental pace of the host. The site of attachment is in an air pocket between the lamellae of the spider's book lungs.{{cite book |last1=Schlinger |first1=Evert I. |title=Ecophysiology of Spiders |chapter=The Biology of Acroceridae (Diptera): True Endoparasitoids of Spiders |date=1987 |publisher=Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg |location=Ecophysiology of Spiders |isbn=978-3-642-71552-5 |pages=319–327 |doi=10.1007/978-3-642-71552-5_24 |chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-71552-5_24 |access-date=6 November 2023}} The third-instar larva will consume most of the host spider’s internal contents, then emerge by making a hole along the host’s epigastric furrow.

Evidence that acrocerid flies deliberately influence host behavior is limited,{{cite journal |last1=Gillung |first1=Jessica P. |last2=Borkent |first2=Christopher J. |title=Death comes on two wings: a review of dipteran natural enemies of arachnids |journal=The Journal of Arachnology |date=2017 |volume=45 |issue=1 |pages=1–19 |doi=10.1636/JoA-S-16-085.1 |url=https://bioone.org/journals/the-journal-of-arachnology/volume-45/issue-1/JoA-S-16-085.1/Death-comes-on-two-wings--a-review-of-dipteran/10.1636/JoA-S-16-085.1.full |access-date=6 November 2023}} but flies in this genus have been observed emerging shortly after their hosts create webbing and clinging to the new webbing using adhesives on their bodies. One to three days after emerging, the larva pupates. Adults can be encountered around dead twigs, or in grassy, wet areas. They have not been observed feeding, though it is possible that the oral membrane in place of functioning mouthparts may be used to collect moisture from the air. Adults are thought to live for three to four weeks at maximum in nature.

Hosts

Larval Ogcodes have been documented developing in spiders from the following taxonomic families:

Like many acrocerids, planidial Ogcodes tend to target hosts that wander or build webs on the ground. Several species within the genus can develop in spiders from three or more different taxonomic families, namely O. adaptus, O. dispar, O. eugonatus, and O. pallidipennis.

Distribution

Ogcodes as a whole is cosmopolitan in distribution. Species richness in Ogcodes is highest in Australia and the Nearctic and Palearctic regions. Species in this genus have not been collected from deserts and certain islands, such as Madagascar and Iceland. The majority of species are found in only one geographic region, with the exceptions of O. pallidipennis, O. dispar, and O. guttatus. Alongside Pterodontia, Ogcodes is one of the two acrocerid genera present in every zoogeographic region.

Taxonomy

Ogcodes is the only extant genus within the subfamily Ogcodinae.{{cite journal |last1=Gillung |first1=Jessica P. |last2=Winterton |first2=Shaun L. |title=Evolution of fossil and living spider flies based on morphological and molecular data (Diptera, Acroceridae) |journal=Systematic Entomology |date=21 March 2019 |volume=44 |issue=4 |pages=820–841 |doi=10.1111/syen.12358 |doi-access=free }} Based on its morphology, the genus was previously placed within Acrocerinae. While many species in Acrocerinae target haplogyne spiders, not a single species in Ogcodes does. Despite sharing morphological characteristics with the acrocerid genus Pterodontia, such as having antennae located on the ventral surface of the head and reduced mouthparts, molecular data indicates that these two genera are not particularly closely related.{{cite journal |last1=Gillung |first1=Jessica P. |last2=Winterton |first2=Shaun L. |last3=Bayless |first3=Keith M. |last4=Khouri |first4=Ziad |last5=Borowiec |first5=Marek L. |last6=Yeates |first6=David |last7=Kimsey |first7=Lynn S. |last8=Misof |first8=Bernhard |last9=Shin |first9=Seunggwan |last10=Zhou |first10=Xin |last11=Mayer |first11=Cristoph |last12=Petersen |first12=Malte |last13=Wiegmann |first13=Brian M. |title=Anchored phylogenomics unravels the evolution of spider flies (Diptera, Acroceridae) and reveals discordance between nucleotides and amino acids |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |date=2018 |volume=128 |pages=233–245 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2018.08.007 |doi-access=free }}

Subgenera and species

The genus is split into three subgenera: Ogcodes, Protogcodes and Neogcodes. Ogcodes is cosmopolitan in distribution, Protogcodes is endemic to Australia, and Neogcodes is restricted to the Nearctic.

Subgenus Ogcodes Latreille, 1796

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Subgenus Protogcodes Schlinger, 1960

Subgenus Neogcodes Schlinger, 1960

The following species are synonyms:

References

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Category:Acroceridae

Category:Nemestrinoidea genera