Passeromyia heterochaeta ( Villeneuve, 1915 )

Dawah, Hassan A., Abdullah, Mohammed A. & Deeming, John C., 2020, The Muscidae (Diptera) of Saudi Arabia, descriptions of two new species, new records and updated list of species, Zootaxa 4869 (1), pp. 1-54 : 16

Passeromyia heterochaeta ( Villeneuve, 1915) ( Fig. 17 )

Muscina heterochaeta Villeneuve, 1915: 225 .

Specimen examined. 1m, Jazan, Abu Aresh, Al-Mahdag Village , Malaise trap, 1.ii.–3.vi.2011, H.A. Dawah ( RCES); 1f, Asir, Abha, Hay Al-Menhel, 19.ii.2014, sweeping, H.A. Dawah ( CERS)

Distribution. New to Saudi Arabia. It was described from Zambia.

Biological remarks. The larvae of this species ingest the blood of living nestling birds and may cause their death if the infestation of the nests is heavy. The larva may penetrate the cavities of the bodies of the nestlings to get enough blood-supply for development ( Patton 1920). Zumpt (1965) summarized the existing knowledge on the biology and life cycle of P. heterochaeta .

Figures

FIGURE. 14–17. Muscidae species habitus: Male; 14) Pyrellina garmsi Zielke, 1971, Female; 15) Muscina prolapse (Harris, 1780), Male; 16) Muscina stabulans (Fallén, 1817), Male; 17) Passeromyia heterochaeta (Villeneuve, 1915), Female.