Ogcodes

Classification

Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Acroceridae
Genus: Ogcodes

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Ogcodes: /ɔɡˈkoʊdiːz/

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Summary

Ogcodes is a cosmopolitan genus of small-headed flies within the Acroceridae family, noted for its role as endoparasitoids of spiders. It contains approximately 90 species and exhibits distinct sexual dimorphism in abdominal markings.

Physical Characteristics

Adult Ogcodes are small to medium in size, with rounded heads and abdomens. They can be brown or black in color, often featuring a pale horizontal band at the posterior edge of each abdominal tergite. They have a short, rod-like antennal flagellum, and their mouthparts are hidden by a membrane. The tibiae lack apical spurs, and the eyes are always holoptic.

Identification Tips

Males have well-defined, wide fasciae on segments 4 & 5, which are usually wider than those on segments 2 & 3, while females have vague, narrow to linear, faint, or absent fasciae on their abdominal dorsum.

Habitat

Adults are typically encountered around dead twigs or in grassy, wet areas.

Distribution

Ogcodes is cosmopolitan, with species richness highest in Australia and the Nearctic and Palearctic regions. Species are absent from deserts and certain islands like Madagascar and Iceland.

Diet

Adults have not been observed feeding, but may collect moisture from the air using their oral membrane. The larvae are endoparasitoids in spiders.

Life Cycle

Females lay eggs around dead twigs, which are brown or black, under 0.35 mm in length. The larvae are planidial and wait for host spiders to attach to. They will consume the host's internal contents and emerge through the epigastric furrow. Pupation occurs 1-3 days after emergence, and adults live for approximately three to four weeks.

Reproduction

Mating occurs before the female lays eggs, which are placed near spider habitats. Larvae enter the host spider typically through the abdomen and attach inside it.

Ecosystem Role

They serve as endoparasitoids of ground-dwelling entelegyne spiders, affecting spider populations indirectly.

Evolution

Ogcodes is the only extant genus within the subfamily Ogcodinae, previously classified under Acrocerinae. Molecular data shows that it is not closely related to Pterodontia despite some morphological similarities.

Similar Taxa

Pterodontia
Acrocerinae

Misconceptions

There is limited evidence suggesting acrocerid flies actively influence host behavior, but some behaviors have been observed in connection with web-building spiders.