Drosophila planitibia

Magnacca, Karl N., Foote, David & O’Grady, Patrick M., 2008, A review of the endemic Hawaiian Drosophilidae and their host plants, Zootaxa 1728, pp. 1-58 : 26

planitibia clade

Another relatively small group, with 17 species (13 with host records), the planitibia clade is also similar to the adiastola clade in its restricted use of host plants. The group can be divided into the picticornis , cyrtoloma , neopicta , and planitibia subgroups. The picticornis group is basal and contains two species, D. picticornis and D. setosifrons , that lack the extra crossvein that is characteristic of the remaining species. These taxa are widely divergent and may be relics of a larger clade ( Bonacum, et al., 2005). The sap breeding ecology of D. picticornis is unique in the planitibia clade. It is also the only picture wing to be reared from Metrosideros polymorpha (Myrtaceae) , the most abundant tree in Hawai‘i, but one that some suggest is very recently introduced to the islands ( Wright, et al., 2001). Drosophila setosifrons is a more typical planitibia species and breeds in Araliaceae bark, making the reconstruction of ancestral host plant for this group uncertain. The hosts of the remaining species are correlated with the subgroups: the cyrtoloma and neopicta subgroups are strictly on Araliaceae , while the planitibia subgroup is primarily on Campanulaceae . Due to their large size, the latter tend to be associated with the larger, arborescent species of Clermontia and Cyanea rather than the shrubbier species, such as Cl. parviflora , that are often more common. In many areas the larger lobelioid species have declined due to damage from feral ungulates and rats ( Pratt & Abbott, 1997).