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1 May 2015 Philornis downsi (Diptera: Muscidae), an Avian Nest Parasite Invasive to the Galápagos Islands, in Mainland Ecuador
Mariana Bulgarella, Martín A. Quiroga, Gabriel A. Brito Vera, Jonathan S. Dregni, Francesca Cunninghame, Denis A. Mosquera Muñoz, Lucas D. Monje, Charlotte E. Causton, George E. Heimpel
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Abstract

Philornis downsi (Dodge and Aitken) is a bird-parasitic muscid fly native to mainland South America that recently invaded the Galápagos Islands where it is parasitizing Darwin's finches and other land birds. This parasite was previously known only from Argentina, Brazil, and Trinidad and Tobago. The first report of P. downsi from mainland Ecuador is provided, supporting the hypothesis that the invasion route of P. downsi from its native range to the Galápagos Islands includes mainland Ecuador. Four different morphologies of pupal exuviae, which belong to different fly species, were uncovered. Dipteran puparia were found in 20% of naturally occurring nests collected in 2013 and in 27% of nests in 2014 at the two sites in western Ecuador. P. downsi accounted for 74% and 40% of the puparia in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Two new bird host species for the genus Philornis were recorded: the streak-headed woodcreeper (Lepidocolaptes souleyetii) and the fasciated wren (Campylorhynchus fasciatus). The levels of nest parasitism found were much lower than levels reported for the Galápagos Islands. Finally, parasitism of P. downsi by a parasitoid in the genus Brachymeria (Hymenoptera, Chalcididae) is documented. Overall, 9% of fly puparia collected in 2013, and 19% of those collected in 2014, had parasitoid emergence holes.

© The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com
Mariana Bulgarella, Martín A. Quiroga, Gabriel A. Brito Vera, Jonathan S. Dregni, Francesca Cunninghame, Denis A. Mosquera Muñoz, Lucas D. Monje, Charlotte E. Causton, and George E. Heimpel "Philornis downsi (Diptera: Muscidae), an Avian Nest Parasite Invasive to the Galápagos Islands, in Mainland Ecuador," Annals of the Entomological Society of America 108(3), 242-250, (1 May 2015). https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/sav026
Received: 22 November 2014; Accepted: 16 March 2015; Published: 1 May 2015
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KEYWORDS
bird nest box
Brachymeria
Ecuador
Galápagos Islands
parasitoid
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