Damalis monochaetes Londt, 1989

Londt, Jason G. H., 2020, A survey of grassland Asilidae (Diptera) at Jacana Eco Estate, Hilton, South Africa, African Invertebrates 61 (1), pp. 29-48 : 29

7. Damalis monochaetes Londt, 1989 Fig. 5

Remarks.

Damalus Fabricius, 1805, was revised by Londt (1989) who described monochaetes from material collected mainly in the midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, the holotype having been collected at the Doreen Clarke Nature Reserve (29°34'41"S, 30°17'19"E), not far from Jacana.

Adults of this species were first encountered, in moderate numbers, in week 10. The species then became abundant over the following six weeks (weeks 11-16). Numbers then diminished over the next three weeks (17-19) and none were encountered on and after week 20. The species was almost entirely confined to the lower field in an area adjacent to trees bordering the estate (most species appear to inhabit vegetation adjacent to wooded areas).

This moderately sized, rather active species was almost invariably seen flying over the vegetation and was easy to catch. Although none were encountered with prey, tail-to-tail mating pairs were commonly observed. The species appears to be largely confined to Londt’s (1994) ecological category 4b (grass tips).

Figures

Figures 4 - 13. Grassland inhabiting Asilidae encountered at Jacana Eco Estate (arranged alphabetically): 4 Caenoura annulitarsis (Loew, 1858) 5 Damalis monochaetes Londt, 1989 6 Dasophrys fortis Londt, 1981 7 Dasophrys tarsalis (Ricardo, 1920) 8 Dysclytus firmatus (Walker, 1857) 9 Euscelidia vallis Dikow, 2003 10 Ischiolobos mesotopos Londt, 2005 11 Leptogaster sp. 12 Microstylum sp. 13 Rhipidocephala obscurata Oldroyd, 1966. Photos: B. Muller.