MadSci Network: Zoology
Query:

Re: Do wasp flies mature only late in summer? In the tropics?

Date: Sun Dec 6 13:46:21 1998
Posted By: Ruth Allard, Other (pls. specify below), Conservation and Science, American Zoo and Aquarium Association
Area of science: Zoology
ID: 907718390.Zo
Message:

Guni,

Unfortunately, my response is going to be a bit vague, because I'm not 
familiar with the insects you mention.  I'd need a bit more specific name 
information to narrow down my response, but here's a start.

Mimicry is a broad term referring to the resemblance of one organism to 
another.  An organism may mimic another's color(s), pattern, form, 
behavior, or a combination of these traits.  The overall goals are for the 
mimic to either avoid something it doesn't want (i.e. predation) or to get 
something it does want (mates, food, etc.).

As for your wasp flies, I'm not sure exactly what their strategy is, 
because I don't know what specific kind of mimicry they exhibit.  You 
mention that they need to avoid insect-feeding birds, and suggest that they 
may mature in late summer, so that potential predators may have already 
learned that things that look like wasp flies may sting.  This is an 
interesting idea.

If wasp flies don't sting (remember, I don't know anything about them), but 
their morphology, or form, is similar enough to that of stinging insects, 
then this form of mimicry may serve as protection against predation 
(mimicry leading to the avoidance of something the flies don't want.). In 
other words, if they look like they have stingers, and insect-eating birds 
thus avoid eating them, then this mimicry is helping them avoid predation, 
and increasing their overall fitness.  

I'm sorry I can't answer your question as to whether this hypothesis is 
true or not.  

I would want to know several things first:  

1.  Do these wasp flies sting?
2.  If not, do they look like other insects which do sting?
3.  Are there insect-eating (or insectivorous) birds overlapping the wasp 
fly habitat (i.e. Are insect-eating birds a potential threat?)
4.  Could this body type/form serve another purpose?  (i.e. is there some 
other advantage to having a pseudo-stinger?  improved odds of mating?)

I can think of a raft of other questions, but that's a good start.  To 
answer your remaining questions, I'm afraid I don't know how abundant these 
flies are in the tropics, but I would run a web search on the scientific 
name (or the order, if the Genus and species are too specific) to see what 
additional information you can find.  Or, my favorite research idea-- take 
a jaunt to the Entomology section of your local library and see what you 
can find.

Regarding other cases of mimicry in insects:  There are all kinds of 
wonderful examples of mimicry in insects.  I found a few web sites which 
illustrate this point nicely.

http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/instruct/brewer/mimicry.htm
a basic look at insect mimicry

http://fig.cox.miami.edu/Faculty/Tom/bil160sp98/18_mimicry.html
great example of Batesian mimicry

http://www.thewildones.org/Animals/camo.html
nifty images of various types of mimicry

Have fun, and keep asking questions,

Ruth 



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