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Ivorra T, Hauser M, Low VL, Tomberlin JK, Nur Aliah NA, Cammack JA, Heo CC. Hermetia illucens and Hermetia fenestrata (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) Colonization of "Spoiled" Stingless Bee Geniotrigona thoracica (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Hives in Malaysia. Insects 2020; 11:E737. [PMID: 33121084 PMCID: PMC7693061 DOI: 10.3390/insects11110737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2020] [Revised: 10/22/2020] [Accepted: 10/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Meliponiculture, the keeping of domesticated stingless bees such as Geniotrigona thoracica (Smith, 1857) (Hymenoptera: Apidae), is an increasingly popular agricultural industry in Malaysia. This study reports the soldier fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) species of the genus Hermetia colonizing stingless bee colonies in Malaysia. The larvae were reared in the laboratory to the adult stage and identified through molecular and morphological approaches. Hermetia illucens (Linnaeus, 1758) and Hermetia fenestrata de Meijere, 1904 (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) were identified from the sample provided. Earlier records of stratiomyids in stingless bee nests were misidentified as H. illucens. This paper represents the first identified record of H. fenestrata colonizing a "spoiled" stingless bee colony. In addition, adult and larval morphological differences between both species and the roles of both species in bee nest decomposition are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tania Ivorra
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Sungai Buloh Campus, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh 47000, Selangor, Malaysia; (N.A.N.A.); (C.C.H.)
| | - Martin Hauser
- Plant Pest Diagnostics Branch, California Department of Food & Agriculture, 3294 Meadowview Road, Sacramento, CA 95832-1448, USA;
| | - Van Lun Low
- Tropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre (TIDREC), University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia;
| | | | - Natasha Azmi Nur Aliah
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Sungai Buloh Campus, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh 47000, Selangor, Malaysia; (N.A.N.A.); (C.C.H.)
| | - Jonathan A. Cammack
- EVO Conversion Systems, LLC, 5552 Raymond Stotzer Pkwy, Suite 100, College Station, TX 77485, USA;
| | - Chong Chin Heo
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Sungai Buloh Campus, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh 47000, Selangor, Malaysia; (N.A.N.A.); (C.C.H.)
- Laboratory and Forensic Medicine (I-PPerForM), Institute for Pathology, Sungai Buloh Campus, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh 47000, Selangor, Malaysia
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