Rhynchopsilopa
Sign in to saveRhynchopsilopa is a genus of shore-flies (Ephydridae). The adults feed on the gut contents of ants. They use their antennae to locate ant nests and use their long sclerotized proboscis to puncture the abdomen of ant workers and feed on the gut contents without killing their victims. They also take honey in laboratory conditions and may not be obligate associates of ants. Their larvae are unknown. Species in the genus are found in Africa and Asia.
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 3
- Family
- Ephydridae
- Collections
- MZLU
- Recorded in
- Sri Lanka, South Africa, Thailand
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Parent taxon
- Ephydridae
Show 3 more facts
- taxon name
- Rhynchopsilopa
- taxon rank
- genus
- diel cycle
- diurnality
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Encyclopedic overview
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Rhynchopsilopa is a genus of shore-flies (Ephydridae). The adults feed on the gut contents of ants. They use their antennae to locate ant nests and use their long sclerotized proboscis to puncture the abdomen of ant workers and feed on the gut contents without killing their victims. They also take honey in laboratory conditions and may not be obligate associates of ants. Their larvae are unknown. Species in the genus are found in Africa and Asia.
The genus is placed in the tribe Psilopini within which they are distinct in having long pendant antennae, a long proboscis, a short forehead, a concave face, and a convex abdomen. After locating an ant, they run after it rather than fly. They jab and obtain gut contents from the ant abdomen very rapidly.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Rhynchopsilopa” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.