Diptera.info :: Identification queries :: Diptera (adults)
 Sciarid - structure?
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| Tony T |
Posted on 18-03-2010 21:52
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 Member Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 664 Joined: 08.02.07 |
Anyone know what these yellow discs are? I don't believe they are spiracles. Tony T attached the following image:  [128.6Kb] Edited by Tony T on 18-03-2010 21:53 |
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| Tony T |
Posted on 18-03-2010 21:56
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Member Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 664 Joined: 08.02.07 |
dorsal
Tony T attached the following image:  [83.66Kb] |
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| Tony T |
Posted on 18-03-2010 21:58
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Member Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 664 Joined: 08.02.07 |
lateral
Tony T attached the following image:  [100.76Kb] |
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| Eric Fisher |
Posted on 19-03-2010 06:43
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 Member Location: California Posts: 435 Joined: 19.05.06 |
Tony, Those structures are "abdominal plaques" and are found in many suborders of nematocerous and orthorraphous brachycerous Diptera (but not in the Cyclorrhapha). They are thought to be "scars" where tendons and muscles attached to the cuticle during the pupal stage. They have also been called "sensory pits" in earlier years (incorrectly, as no sensory function has been found for these structures). The best study I know of is: Stoffolano, J.G., N.E. Woodley, A. Borkent and L.R.S. Yin. 1988. Ultrastructural studies of the abdominal plaques of some Diptera. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 81:503-510. Eric |
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| Tony T |
Posted on 19-03-2010 14:45
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Member Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 664 Joined: 08.02.07 |
Thanks Eric. I had never heard of these. The Manual of NA Diptera does not mention them and Idema did not include them in his drawing of a female Sciara. |
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| Eric Fisher |
Posted on 19-03-2010 18:03
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Member Location: California Posts: 435 Joined: 19.05.06 |
You're most welcome Tony. I just noticed that the new "Manual of Central American Diptera" mentions them in the "Adult Morphology and Terminology" chapter (no doubt because that 1988 paper had appeared in the interim). Interestingly, the figure used is the Rhamphomyia abdomen (no. 101, pg. 42) from the NA Manual, where some plaques are shown but not annotated. (That incredible artist, Ralph Idema, never missed a significant detail!). Many figures from MNAD are reused in MCAD -- especially for the morphology chapter. BTW, your sciarid photos are beauts!
Edited by Eric Fisher on 19-03-2010 18:05 |
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| jorgemotalmeida |
Posted on 20-03-2010 20:36
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 Member Location: Viseu - PORTUGAL Posts: 9296 Joined: 05.06.06 |
Welcome back, Tony. Hope to see some very nice Nearctic tabanids soon. |
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