The text below is grayed out because it is not intended to be read. It is a necessarily imperfect OCR of the original and is only used by a search engine.
Volume 26, Number 1
65
MIDGES SUCKING BLOOD OF CATERPILLARS (DIPTERA: CERATOPOGONIDAE)
Lepidopterous larvae have been known to be attacked by bloodsucking midges since De Geer (1752, Mem,. Hist. Imectes 1: 327) wrote, "Nos grandes Chenilles sont aussi incommodees par ces petits Moucherons; sur le corps d'une de ces Chenilles fen vis cinq ou six, qui avoient enfonce leur petite trompe dans la peau, & oui etoient occupes a sucer la liqueur verdatre, qui est le sang de la Chenille/' In all the lepidopterous literature appearing in the two hundred years since that time, however, there are so few accounts of these tiny parasites that it would appear that they are extremely rare. I believe that such is not the case, and that these midges have been overlooked because of their small size (less than 2 mm long), their rapid darting flight, and probably their nocturnal habits.
In 1956 (Ann. Ent. Soc. Amer. 49: 356-364) I reviewed all the published records and available museum specimens of these caterpillar parasites and concluded that all pertained to Forcipomyia fuliginosa (Meigen), a common species with nearly worldwide distribution. I have just finished going over the museum material and literature again, and although I can now recognize several distinct local species of caterpillar parasites in tropical America, F. fuliginosa still remains as the main species attacking lepidopterous larvae around the world. It also occasionally attacks other soft-bodied insects such as sawfly larvae, dragonflies, and meloid beetles.
Several observers have noted outbreaks of these bloodsuckers in sufficient numbers to indicate that on occasion they may have a role in reducing caterpillar populations. Hagen (1883, Ent. Mo. Mag. 19: 254) called attention to their attacks on Pieris menapia Felder in Washington Territory, and Baker (1907, U.S. Dept. Agr. Bur. Ent. Bull. 67: 117) reported their depredations on an outbreak of Melanchroia geometroides Walk, in Cuba. Mayer (1955, Ztschr. fiir Ang. Zool. 1: 95-107) suggested that the death of the caterpillars was probably not caused directly by the feeding of such small midges, but that their habits fitted them well to act as vectors of polyhedral viruses or other diseases.
The purpose of this note is a plea to lepidopterists to make a special effort to look out for these minute caterpillar pests during their field work. I suspect that night-time observations might give us more data on the abundance of these midges and their habits. In some situations it is very possible that these tiny flies may have some role in biological control, particularly in bringing a virus infection from "wild" hosts in a field or orchard margin into a caterpillar population on a crop plant.
Willis W. Wirth, Systematic Entomology Laboratory, ARS U. S. Department of Agriculture c/o U. S. National Museum, Washington, D. C. 20560.
NOTES AND NEWS
It is a pleasure to announce that Dr. Alexander B. Klots and Dr. Eugene Monroe have been overwhelmingly approved by the membership as honorary life members of the Lepidopterists' Society.
The new editor of the Journal asks that prospective authors carefully read the Notice to Contributors (inside back cover), as several changes in editorial policy have been instituted.