Flower-Feeding By Two Species Of Mydas Fly (Diptera: Mydidae) In Florida, With Notes On Tree-Form Licania Michauxii (Gopher Apple)

Abstract

We present an account of flower-feeding by 2 species of mydas flies in Florida. We observed adults of Mydas clavatus and Mydas maculiventris feeding on flowers of both typical and unusually large (tree-form) Licania michauxii (Gopher Apple; Chrysobalanaceae). We also observed M. maculiventris feeding on flowers of Serenoa repens (Saw Palmetto; Arecaceae) in Florida scrub habitat. We discuss these observations following a brief review of feeding ecology in mydids, and include a checklist of the 12 known Florida mydids with a summary of our current knowledge of adult feeding in these species. We also provide additional sites of tree-form Gopher Apple in Martin County, FL, with a discussion of this unique form and the location of a new record-size specimen in Jonathan Dickinson State Park.

Publication Date

5-1-2018

Publication Title

Southeastern Naturalist

Volume

17

Issue

2

Number of Pages

N19-N27

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1656/058.017.0208

Socpus ID

85047627728 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85047627728

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