''Sturmiopsis inferens'' is a species of

fly Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced m ...

in the family

Tachinidae The Tachinidae are a large and variable family of true flies within the insect order Diptera, with more than 8,200 known species and many more to be discovered. Over 1,300 species have been described in North America alone. Insects in this fami ...

. It is native to Asia and is a parasitoid of various moth species whose larvae feed inside the stems of sugarcane,

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly '' Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and ''Porteresia'', both wild and domestica ...

and other large grasses, including the Gurdaspur borer (''Bissetia steniellus'') and the sugarcane shoot borer (''Chilo infuscatellus'').

Description

''Sturmiopsis inferens'' is a stout fly with a silvery-white head, dark brown forehead, hairy parafacial area, densely hairy eyes, yellowish-brown antennae, silvery-white abdomen and brownish-black legs.

Host species

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ...

, this fly parasitises the Gurdaspur borer (''Bissetia steniellus'') and the

gold-fringed rice stemborer ''Chilo auricilius'', the gold-fringed rice stemborer or terai borer, is a moth in the family Crambidae. It was described by Gerald C. Dudgeon in 1905. It is found in India, Taiwan, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, as well as on Sulawesi, Borneo, Sangir I ...

(''Chilo auricilius''), in

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Kar ...

it concentrates on the ragi stem borer (''Sesamia inferens'') and in

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sc ...

, the main host species is the sugarcane shoot borer (''Chilo infuscatellus''). It also targets other ''Chilo'' spp. including ''

Chilo polychrysus ''Chilo polychrysus'', the dark-headed striped borer, is a moth in the family Crambidae. It was described by Edward Meyrick in 1932. It is found in India, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Indonesia. The wingspan is 16–25 mm. The win ...

'', as well as ''

Scirpophaga nivella ''Scirpophaga nivella'' is a moth in the family Crambidae. It was described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1794. It is found in southern Asia from the Indian Subcontinent in the west to southern China in the east, south to New Guinea and Aust ...

'', which are pests of

Biology

''S. inferens'' is a naturally occurring parasitoid of the sugarcane shoot borer (''Chilo infuscatellus'') in India, and it has proved possible to use it as a

biological control Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically als ...

of this sugarcane pest. The fly seems to be most active at temperatures between and humidities of over 60% and it can now be reared in the laboratory. Each female fly is capable of infecting up to three hundred larvae, and twenty to fifty females can be released per hectare about two months after planting the sugarcane crop in order to achieve control. This fly is

viviparous Among animals, viviparity is development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. This is opposed to oviparity which is a reproductive mode in which females lay developing eggs that complete their development and hatch externally from the ...

. A newly hatched female mates with a slightly older male and there follows a

gestation Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during preg ...

period of 12 to 16 days. The female then seeks out a tunnel made by the larvae of a sugarcane borer; she deposits her larvae in the tunnel and they invade the host larvae, making their way in through the cuticle. When fully fed, after 6 to 15 days, the parasitoid larvae

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

te in the tunnel, emerging as adults in 12 to 14 days. The length of each life stage depends on the temperature and humidity, the total length of the life cycle being in the range 30 to 45 days.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q14736475 Diptera of Asia Exoristinae Insects described in 1916 Taxa named by Charles Henry Tyler Townsend