''Lespesia archippivora'' is a species of

tachinid The Tachinidae are a large and variable family of true flies within the insect order Diptera, with more than 8,200 known species and many more to be discovered. Over 1,300 species have been described in North America alone. Insects in this family ...

fly Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...

, which, like all tachinids, are

parasitoid In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable str ...

s of other

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

s. ''L. archippivora'' lives in the body of its host resulting in its death. This is not uncommon since it is estimated that about 10% of all

insects Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...

are parasitoids. ''L. archippivora'' is a generalist and able to infect at least 25

lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

n species in addition to one species of

Hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order (biology), order of insects, comprising the sawfly, sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are Par ...

. It is common in North America and other species exist worldwide. One study suggests the species is bivoltine. It is used as a biological control of a number of pests, such the army worm (''

Mythimna unipuncta ''Mythimna unipuncta'', the true armyworm moth, white-speck moth, common armyworm or rice armyworm, is a nocturnal agricultural pest belonging to the family Noctuidae. This moth is also commonly referred to by the scientific name ''Pseudaletia ...

''), sugarcane leaf roller ('' Omiodes accepta''), corn earworm ('' Heliothis zea''), black cutworm (''

Agrotis ipsilon ''Agrotis ipsilon'', the dark sword-grass, black cutworm, greasy cutworm, floodplain cutworm or ipsilon dart, is a small noctuid moth found worldwide. The moth gets its scientific name from black markings on its forewings shaped like the letter ...

''), and variegated cutworm (''

Peridroma saucia ''Peridroma saucia'', the pearly underwing or variegated cutworm, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1808. It is found in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa. The variegated cutwor ...

''). It is a concern in the

morbidity A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...

monarch butterflies The monarch butterfly or simply monarch (''Danaus plexippus'') is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. Other common names, depending on region, include milkweed, common tiger, wanderer, and black-veined brown. ...

. Researchers do not all agree that a high census of ''L. archippivora'' may regulate the population or have an effect on the fall migration of eastern monarch butterflies to Mexico. The butterfly does not survive the infection and it is estimated that 6.2% of wild-monitored monarch butterflies are killed by this fly. Even monarch butterfly eggs can be infected. In 1898 it was introduced into the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

Albert Koebele Albert Koebele (28 February 1853 - 28 December 1924) was an economic entomologist and a pioneer in the use of biological controls to manage insect pests. Early career Koebele was born in Waldkirch, Germany, in 1853. There are no details about ...

and used as a biological control agent to reduce the population of army worms.

Reproduction

Mating In biology, mating is the pairing of either opposite-sex or hermaphroditic organisms for the purposes of sexual reproduction. ''Fertilization'' is the fusion of two gametes. ''Copulation'' is the union of the sex organs of two sexually reproduc ...

occurs within the first day after the

emerged from its

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

stage. After mating, the female begins to locate a

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People *Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman * Michel Host ...

. She acts quickly when she finds a host,

oviposit The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typical ...

ing at the posterior end of the

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

. The female fly places relatively large

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...

s on the host. The

maggot A maggot is the larva of a fly (order Diptera); it is applied in particular to the larvae of Brachycera flies, such as houseflies, cheese flies, and blowflies, rather than larvae of the Nematocera, such as mosquitoes and crane flies. ...

then hatches and burrows through the surface of the host. Total brood size varies, but typically ranges from 1-10 maggots per host. After

infection An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

, ''Lespesia archippivora'' maggots go through three larval

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ass ...

s, exit their hosts as a late stage larva and hide under

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...

substrate. While residing inside its host, the maggot moves freely. After 3 days, the fly larva adheres itself close to a

spiracle Spiracle or spiraculum may refer to: * Spiracle (arthropods), opening in the exoskeletons of some arthropods * Spiracle (vertebrates), openings on the surface of some vertebrates * Spiraculum, a genus of land snails in family Cyclophoridae Cycl ...

(breathing tube) of the infected caterpillar. As the maggot continues to mature, it eventually consumes the internal contents of its host. The fly larva then leaves its host. The fly pupates and emerges as a mature fly approximately 10 to 14 days later. A mature female fly lays between 15 and 204 eggs in her lifetime.

Hyperparistoids

While ''L. archippivora'' can infect a host other parasites, called hyperparasitoids can infect the parasite. A species of wasp, '' Perilampus hyalinus'' was found to have infected the tachinid larva, ''L. archippivora''.

References

External links

images of ''Lespesia archippivora'' from Monarch Watch

Tachinids of Bertha armyworm

Progeny Allocation by the Parasitoid ''Lespesia Archippivora'' (Diptera: Tachinidae) in Larvae of ''Spodoptera Exigua'' (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) {{Taxonbar, from=Q14394553 Exoristinae Parasites of insects Parasites of Hymenoptera Parasitic flies Diptera of North America