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

Phoridae是一个大型的小苍蝇（0.5-6.0毫米长），在世界各地发现。目前已知的4，000个物种可能仅占实际物种总数的10%。在蚤属Apocephalus中，有275种被描述的物种仅在北美，中美洲和南美洲发现。这些苍蝇是寄生虫，主要寄生在蚂蚁身上，幼虫以蚂蚁组织为食，并经常将蚂蚁宿主斩首。此外，寄生蝇可能对蚂蚁的各种行为产生深远的影响。在本项目中，将对约400种Apocephalus进行修订（PI先前已对该属的其余物种进行了处理）。许多新的物种将被描述，它们的关系研究使用DNA序列和身体结构，并提出了一个新的分类。在北美（亚利桑那州、得克萨斯州）和新大陆热带地区（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宿主-寄生虫协会。这些苍蝇具有很强的潜力，可用作其宿主蚂蚁的生物控制剂。该项目将通过提供已公布的和在线的识别该物种的关键字，使Apocephalus物种成为可能的生物控制工具，并制作网页，使有关它们的信息普遍可用。两名新的研究生将接受该项目的培训，提供更多关于蚤蝇识别的专业知识，并扩大该项目的范围。

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.