Acrocera orbicula
Taxonomy
This page represents the following TreeOfLife-200M taxonomic path.[1]
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Class: Insecta
- Order: Diptera
- Family: Acroceridae
- Genus: Acrocera
- Species: Acrocera orbicula
Visual Description
Acrocera orbicula, commonly known as the Top-horned Hunchback, is a small fly characterized by a distinctively humped thorax, a feature typical of the family Acroceridae. Observations of museum specimens and field photographs show a rounded, globular abdomen. The body exhibits a patterned appearance, often with dark and light markings.[1]
Life History and Ecology
Acrocera orbicula is a parasitoid of spiders. Research indicates that the larvae are capable of crawling, a behavior that distinguishes them from other genera within the Acroceridae. The larval infection process involves the larva boring a small hole into the host spider's body—such as the leg, pro-, or opisthosoma—and sealing it with its head to maintain internal pressure. The larval exuviae typically remain attached to the dorsal side of the spider's opisthosoma. The larva often attaches to the spider's book lung to facilitate respiration. After an initial diapause phase lasting 6–9 months, the larva completes its development by consuming the spider's abdomen.[2] Adult flies have been observed visiting flowers, such as Acer platanoides, for nectar.[3]
Gallery
References
- 1 2 Dataset view for Animalia / Arthropoda / Insecta / Diptera / Acroceridae / Acrocera / orbicula constructed from imageomics/TreeOfLife-200M records under this taxonomic path. Hugging Face Datasets. https://huggingface.co/datasets/imageomics/TreeOfLife-200M.
- ↑ Günther Langer. Ein seltener Parasitoid der WolfspinnePardosa alacris(Araneae: Lycosidae):Ogcodes gibbosus(Diptera: Acroceridae).. Arachnologische Mitteilungen Arachnology Letters. 2005. https://doi.org/10.5431/aramit2907.
- ↑ Acrocera orbicula. Global Biotic Interactions. https://www.globalbioticinteractions.org/?targetTaxon=Acrocera%20orbicula. Accessed 2026-07-14.