REVSYS: Finishing the ant-decapitating flies, genus Apocephalus (Insecta, Diptera, Phoridae)

蝇科是一种体型小（长0.5-6.0毫米）的苍蝇，分布在世界各地。目前已知的4000个物种可能只占实际物种总数的10%。在Apocephalus属中，仅在北美洲、中美洲和南美洲发现了275种已描述的物种。这些苍蝇是寄生的，主要寄生在蚂蚁身上，幼虫以蚂蚁组织为食，经常将它们的蚂蚁宿主斩首。此外，寄生蝇可能对蚂蚁的多种行为产生深远的影响。在这个项目中，将对大约400种Apocephalus进行修订（该属的其余物种已由PI先前处理过）。许多新物种将被描述，它们之间的关系将用DNA序列和身体结构来研究，并提出一个新的分类。在北美（亚利桑那州、德克萨斯州）和新世界热带地区（阿根廷、哥斯达黎加、秘鲁）的实地工作将发现更多的新物种和寄主-寄生虫关系。这些蝇类具有很强的潜力，可以作为其宿主蚂蚁的生物防治剂。该项目将通过提供公开和在线的物种识别密钥，并制作网页，使有关它们的信息普遍可用，使Apocephalus物种成为可能的生物防治工具。该项目将培训两名新的研究生，提供更多有关蝇类鉴定的专业知识，并扩大项目的范围。

The family Phoridae is a large group of small (0.5-6.0 mm long) flies that are found worldwide. The 4,000 species that are currently known may represent as little as 10% of the actual total number of species. In the phorid genus Apocephalus, 275 described species are found only in North, Central, and South America. These flies are parasitic, mostly on ants, and the larvae feed on ant tissue and often decapitate their ant host. In addition, the parasitic flies may have profound effects on a variety of ant behaviors. In this project, approximately 400 species of Apocephalus will be revised (the rest of the genus having been previously treated by the PI). Many new species will be described, their relationships investigated using both DNA sequences and body structure, and a new classification proposed. Field work in North America (Arizona, Texas) and the New World tropics (Argentina, Costa Rica, Peru) will uncover additional new species and host-parasite associations. These flies have a strong potential to be used as biological control agents of their host ants. This project will make Apocephalus species available as possible biocontrol tools by providing published and online keys for identifying the species, and making web pages so that information about them is generally available. Two new graduate students will be trained in the project, providing more expertise on phorid fly identification and broadening the scope of the project.