Host nest discrimination by a cleptoparasitic fly, Metopia campestris (Fallen) (Diptera: Sarcophagidae: Miltogramminae)

TitleHost nest discrimination by a cleptoparasitic fly, Metopia campestris (Fallen) (Diptera: Sarcophagidae: Miltogramminae)
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication1986
AuthorsWcislo WT
JournalJournal of the Kansas Entomological Society
Volume59
Pagination82-88
KeywordsSARCOPHAGIDAE
Abstract

Nine visual or olfactory cues potentially used in host nest selection were presented in artificial burrows to cleptoparasitic Metopia campestris females flying at an aggregation of nests of digger wasps, Crabro cribrellifer. These flies are visually attracted to holes in the ground, with subsequent discrimination among nests mediated by chemical cues probably derived from the host female.