Phoresy
Guides
Rhinotragini
Rhinotragini is a tribe of longhorn beetles within the subfamily Cerambycinae, characterized by diverse genera distributed primarily in the Neotropical region. The tribe includes numerous genera with species showing striking wasp-like mimicry and associations with flowers. Taxonomic revisions have described multiple new genera and species, particularly from Bolivia, with ongoing work clarifying generic boundaries and species limits. Members range from small to medium-sized beetles, often with vivid coloration and elongated bodies.
Rhopalum
Rhopalum is a large genus of solitary wasps in the family Crabronidae, with over 280 described species distributed worldwide. These wasps are part of the diverse crabronid lineage, which are predominantly predatory. The genus includes both native and introduced species, with R. clavipes being notably widespread in North America as an introduced species.
Rhopalum clavipes
Rhopalum clavipes is a species of square-headed wasp in the family Crabronidae. It is native to Europe and Northern Asia, and has been introduced to North America where it is now widespread. The species has been documented with a unique phoretic association with the dipteran Ptychoneura minuta, whose eggs are attached to the thorax of adult female wasps.
Ripiphoridae
wedge-shaped beetles
Ripiphoridae is a cosmopolitan family of approximately 450 described species of beetles commonly known as wedge-shaped beetles. The family is notable for hypermetamorphic parasitoid development, a trait shared only with Meloidae among beetles. Host associations vary by subfamily: Ripiphorinae attack bees and wasps, Ripidiinae parasitize cockroaches, and Pelecotominae attack wood-boring beetle larvae. The family exhibits extreme morphological modifications including abbreviated elytra, sexually dimorphic antennae (flabellate or pectinate in males), and in some groups, wingless larviform females.
Sericoda
Sericoda is a genus of harpaline ground beetles native to the Holarctic region, with apparent North American origin. These beetles are pyrophilous, meaning they are strongly attracted to burned areas following forest fires. They are generally smaller than related genera such as Agonum. Two species, Sericoda quadripunctata and S. bembidioides, have been extensively studied in boreal forests of Alberta, Canada, where they serve as hosts for phoretic mites of the genus Antennoseius.
Sphaeropthalminae
Sphaeropthalminae is a species-rich subfamily of velvet ants (Mutillidae), a group of solitary wasps in which females are wingless and males are winged. Phoretic copulation—where a male physically transports a female by flight and/or foot from their initial site of contact before mating—has been documented in at least one member, Sphaeropthalma pensylvanica, representing the first record of this behavior for the subfamily. The subfamily exhibits sexual dimorphism, with flightless females and winged males.
Stenosphenus
Stenosphenus is a genus of longhorn beetles (family Cerambycidae) first described by Haldeman in 1847. The genus contains approximately 22 described species distributed across North America from the eastern United States through Mexico and into Central America. Some species exhibit specialized host associations with particular tree genera, particularly hickories (Carya). At least one species, Stenosphenus notatus, is notable for overwintering as an adult—an uncommon life history strategy among eastern North American cerambycids.
Stenosphenus sobrius
Stenosphenus sobrius is a species of longhorned beetle in the family Cerambycidae, described by Newman in 1840. Adults have been observed on fresh wind-thrown branches of palo verde (Cercidium floridum) in the San Lucan xeric scrub of Baja California Sur, Mexico. The species appears to be associated with woody legume hosts and has a distribution spanning Middle America and North America.
Synthesiomyia
Synthesiomyia is a small genus of muscid flies in the family Muscidae. The genus contains at least one well-documented species, Synthesiomyia nudiseta, which has gained forensic importance as a carrion-associated fly in tropical, subtropical, and recently colonized Palearctic regions. Species in this genus exhibit facultative predatory behavior and are used in postmortem interval estimation.
Synthesiomyia nudiseta
Synthesiomyia nudiseta is a large muscid fly (7–10 mm) and the sole species in its genus. It is necrophagous and facultatively predatory, with larvae known to consume other necrophagous fly larvae including Chrysomya rufifacies and C. albiceps. The species is forensically significant due to its predictable life cycle and tendency to pupate in confined locations near carcasses, such as within clothing. Originally tropical and subtropical in distribution, it has established in southwestern Europe (Spain, Italy, Portugal) and occurs in the southern United States.
Telenomus calvus
Telenomus calvus is a phoretic egg parasitoid of the spined soldier bug, Podisus maculiventris. Females exhibit a distinctive riding behavior, attaching to host bodies at 25 different locations with preference for the pronotum and femurs, using hypertrophied arolia for secure attachment. They dismount specifically during host oviposition to parasitize egg masses. The species has a relatively low fecundity of approximately 22 progeny per female, with female production peaking early in life and declining rapidly, while male production remains low and constant.
Trichodes
checkered beetles
Trichodes is a genus of checkered beetles (family Cleridae) containing approximately 64 species, with 11 species occurring in North America. The genus includes some of the largest and most strikingly colored members of the family. Adults are frequently found on flowers where they feed on pollen and nectar, while larvae are specialized predators that develop within the nests of bees and wasps.
Uropodina
Uropodina is an infraorder of mites in the order Mesostigmata, characterized by morphologically variable forms with fused sternal and ventral shields, short legs with reduced setae, and stigmata positioned between the second and third leg pairs. Most species inhabit soil, forest litter, and decaying organic matter, where they function primarily as predators of small invertebrates. Many species exhibit phoresy during the deutonymph stage, attaching to insects and other arthropods for dispersal using a secreted elastic pedicel. Reproduction is predominantly sexual, though parthenogenesis occurs in some species with males rare or absent.
Uropodoidea
tortoise mites
Uropodoidea is a superfamily of tortoise mites (Mesostigmata) comprising over 2,000 described species worldwide. These mites are characterized by their phoretic associations with insects, particularly bark beetles (Scolytinae) and burying beetles (Nicrophorus), which they use for dispersal between patchy, ephemeral habitats. The superfamily exhibits diverse host relationships, with most species showing narrow host specificity, though some exhibit broader host ranges. Molecular and morphological studies have revealed that apparent host generalists are often complexes of cryptic specialist species.
Winterschmidtiidae
Winterschmidtiidae is a family of over 140 mite species in the order Astigmata, distributed worldwide. The family comprises four subfamilies with distinct ecological specializations: Ensliniellinae associated with Hymenoptera (especially wasps and bees), Winterschmidtiinae with wood-boring beetles, Saproglyphinae with decaying materials and fungi, and Oulenziinae with leaves, vertebrate nests, and stored foods. Many species exhibit complex life cycles synchronized with insect hosts, including phoretic deutonymphs for dispersal and seasonal polymorphisms for environmental resistance.