NEW OR LITTLE KNOWN FEEDING HABITS IN EMPIDIDAE (DIPTERA)

Abstract

AbstractMost Empididae are predators on living insects, but a few instances of other feeding habits have been discovered. It is shown thatAnthalia bulbosa(Ocydromiinae) eats the pollen of several flowers, and other possible cases of pollen-eating in Ocydromiinae and Empidinae are discussed.Micropborus obscurus(Empidinae) feeds on dead insects trapped in spiders’ webs, in agreement with Laurence’s finding forM.crassipes; and several reports of Clinoceratinae feeding on dead insects at the water’s edge are assembled. This diversity of feeding habit finds a parallel in Ceratopogonidae.In Empididae the protein-rich meal, whether of insect prey, dead insects, or dead pollen, is taken in typical cases by both males and females, as would be expected on systematic grounds. The sexual differentiation of hunting and feeding habits (males hunting, perhaps not feeding; females non-hunting, receiving prey by transfer at mating) is a specialized feature restricted to theEmpis–Hilara–Rhamphomyiagroup (Empidinae).