Euthycerina, Malloch, 1933

Mortelmans, Jonas & Hendrix, Jef, 2020, Review of Euthycerina Malloch (Diptera, Sciomyzidae), with description of a new species from Chile, Zootaxa 4786 (3), pp. 381-395 : 393

Biology of Euthycerina

Nothing is known on the biology of Euthycerina , except for two unpublished rearing notes that are based on live specimens collected by Clifford O. Berg and Jay Abercrombie in the 1960’s. These live specimens were sent back to Cornell University (CUIC) to be reared in the laboratory by Jay Abercrombie and Jan Zuska. The unpublished rearing notes associated to Euthycerina were kindly provided to us by Jan Zuska.

A first note is dealing with Euthycerina ‘parvula’ and collected specimens are here identified by JM as E. vittithorax . The following paragraph is an exact copy of these rearing notes, giving details on the copulation: “ ♀ with wings stretched at 90º or even more ♂ with fore tarsi on ♀ orbits; mid tarsi rest with apical part of tarsi on costa between humeral vein and apex of r1 (either laterally of apical part or with tarsal apex touching surface of costal cell); hind legs resting on sides of ♀ abdomen (between segments 4 and 5); when ♀ was disturbed and wanted to drop ♂ down, ♂ kept her mainly with mid legs (clasped around ♀ thorax across wings so that these are more pressed down. Wings of ♂ completely folded over abdomen.”

A second note provided the only information on ecology of Euthycerina ‘elongata’, here identified by JM as Euthycerina spec. The following paragraph is an exact copy of these rearing notes: “ 7. XII. 1966: set into BJ (P). 9. XII: 3 eggs in the evening; two of them on shell of Stagnicola palustris . 16. XII: One L1 found, set on Helisoma sp. ¢ 1 mm (2 p. m.); 8 p. m. OK. 17. XII: afternoon: larva dead, Helisoma alive” .