Notas
Received: 10 August 2020
Accepted: 03 November 2020
Published: 28 December 2020
Abstract: In this note we report the presence of Beelzebub bee-eater fly Mallophora leschenaulti Macquart, 1938 (Diptera: Asilidae) from northern Chile. A female was collected from highland scrublands in Chapiquiña town, Arica y Parinacota region. In addition, two females are reported from Lluta valley near Peru border. This is the second Mallophora species registered in Chile, distributed in scrubland and cropland ecosystems. We discuss some native carpenter bees and bumblebees as potential preys.
Keywords: Altiplanic scrublands, Arica y Parinacota, Chapiquiña, Highland ecosystem, Lluta valley.
Resumen: En esta nota reportamos la presencia de la mosca Belcebú depredadora de abejas Mallophora leschenaulti Macquart, 1938 (Diptera: Asilidae) en el norte de Chile. Una hembra fue colectada desde los matorrales de altura en el pueblo de Chapiquiña, región de Arica y Parinacota. Además, dos hembras adicionales se reportan del valle de Lluta cerca de la frontera con Perú. Esta es la segunda especie de Mallophora reportada en Chile, las cuales se distribuyen en ecosistemas de matorrales nativos y cultivos. Discutimos sobre abejas carpinteras y abejorros nativos como presas potenciales.
Palabras clave: Arica y Parinacota, Chapiquiña, Ecosistemas de altura, Matorral altiplánico, Valle de Lluta.
MallophoraMacquart, 1838 is a genus of bumblebee-mimic robber flies (Diptera) of large size, predators mainly of Hymenoptera, represented by 59 species, widely distributed through Neotropical countries (Geller-Grimm, 2013; Lavigne, 2016). Early, this genus was excluded from Chile, but Artigas (1970) reported from Azapa valley (Arica) the only species recorded in Chile: Mallophora atraMacquart, 1834. This species is morphologically characterized based on its abundant black pilosity on the thorax, including scutellum, the presence of white hairs patches under ventral margin of the eyes and yellowish pilosity in the occiput (Artigas, 1970; Artigas & Angulo, 1980). Another Neotropical species, Mallophora leschenaultiMacquart, 1834 (Fig. 1), is similar to M. atra excepting for the presence of whitish pilosity in the anterior part of scutum and scutellum. The fly is widely distributed from USA to Argentina living in different ecosystems, mainly scrublands (Artigas & Angulo, 1980; Papavero, 2013; Vieira et al., 2019). However, other data about its biology, ecology and behavior are absent. Herein, we provide the first records of M. leschenaulti from the Chilean highlands in Arica y Parinacota region, and a map of the currently known geographical distribution of Mallophora species in the country.
Fig. 1. Mallophora leschenaulti Macquart, 1938, female. A. lateral view. B. dorsal view with collecting label.
Fig. 2. A. Distributional map of Mallophora species present in Arica y Parinacota region, Chile. B. Highlands scrubland ecosystem where M. leschenaulti was found.
Highlands in Chile represent a high desert with heavy rainfalls only in summer and tropical influence with low tropical Andean scrubland type dominating the landscape (Di Castri & Hajek, 1976). In March 2018, during fieldworks in Chilean highlands from Arica y Parinacota region (18°28′30″S, 70°18′52″W; Fig. 2A), we collected a single female of M. leschenaulti in scrublands near the Chapiquiña town, placed at 2,800 m.a.s.l. The female was captured by hand with an entomological net and housed on personal collection of first author. The identification was based on Artigas (1970) and Artigas & Angulo (1980). In addition, other two females caught in from shrublands in Lluta valley, both with the same labels, were recorded from Universidad de Tarapacá collection and we assign a new code and housed in the same institution (Fig. 1B). The distribution map of Mallophora species was built with land use types obtained from national cadaster of native forest (CONAF BIRF, 2013).
New records: CHILE: Arica y Parinacota, one adult, female, Chapiquiña, 18°23'45"S, 69°32'12"W, 3458 m, 28 March 2018, R. Barahona-Segovia, voucher 33ASI/CPRBS; two adults, both females, Lluta valley, 10 December 2000, R. Ramos, vouchers 01ASI/UTA and 02ASI/UTA.
In Chile both biology and ecology of Asilidae have been poorly studied. The greatest contributions have come from taxonomic and systematic papers done by Artigas (1970), Artigas & Angulo (1980), Artigas et al. (2005) and Artigas & Parra (2006), with few new additions in the last decade to the Chilean fauna. The area where the female of M. leschenaulti was reported, is characterized by having dense scrubland with little intervention (Fig. 2B), with an abundance of seasonal flowers as a result of the altiplanic rains and with available preys such as the carpenter bee Xylocopa viridigastra Lepeletier and Bombus funebris Smith. Both bee species are black with abundant hair and silver patches on the thorax, then M. leschenaulti is a possible mimic species of these native bees. Recently, Montalva et al. (2017) reported the presence of the exotic bumblebee Bombus terrestris L. in Chilean valleys, and highlands from Arica y Parinacota region. This invasive bumblebee could be a potential prey for M. leschenaulti as suggest Barahona-Segovia & Pañinao-Monsálvez (2020) for other Chilean giant robber flies. Mallophora leschenaulti has been recorded from similar scrubland biomes as Brazilian Cerrado or temperate scrublands (Kohler et al., 2013; Cezar, 2017) suggesting that this robber fly species could have permanent populations in scrubland from highlands in northern Chile. Unfortunately, many aspects of its ecology in Chile or the Neotropical region, still remain unknown. This new record helps to fill the distributional gaps of the Diptera in the studied region of Chile.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank Dante Bobadilla, Héctor Vargas from Universidad de Tarapacá (UTA) and Hugo Benítez (ex UTA) for allowing us to work with the collection and their logistic help; our reviewers for the suggestions to improve the manuscript, and Andrea Riveros-Díaz for her assistance in fieldwork. RMBS thank PhD doctoral scholarship CONICYT 21160404 (currently called Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo - ANID) and the AFB170008 fund from Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad (IEB) of Chile.
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Author notes
rbarahona13@gmail.com
