Short communication: Male-male agonistic behavior and ant-mimicry in a neotropical richardiid (Diptera: Richardiidae)

Marcio R. Pie*, Kleber Del-Claro

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (journal)peer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The Richardiidae are acalyptrate dipterans about which very little is known. Here we describe male-male agonistic interactions and test a hypothesis of ant-mimicry in a new richardiid species in the genus Sepsisoma. Males of Sepsisoma sp. show several ritualized agonistic behaviors, with a clear escalation from simpler to more elaborate displays, which are described here in detail. We could distinguish four (not clearly discrete) behavioral stages during the escalation: Chase, Orientation, Leg display and Body raising. As the displays shifted from simpler to more elaborate, there was also a decrease in their relative frequency. Curiously, small males were by far the most aggressive, and most of their agonisms were directed to large males. The Sepsisoma flies in this study show a clear ant-like appearance, particularly resembling the formicine ant Camponotus crassus. We conducted laboratory experiments which support this hypothesis, providing the first experimental evidence that ant-like dipterans may deceive a potential predator.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)19-22
Number of pages4
JournalStudies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment
Volume37
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 31 Jan 2002

Keywords

  • Camponotus
  • Lekking behavior
  • Mimicry
  • Myrmecomorphism
  • Richardiidae

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Short communication: Male-male agonistic behavior and ant-mimicry in a neotropical richardiid (Diptera: Richardiidae)'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this