Abai, MR

6th International Congress of DipterologyKey Words: Sciaridae, Ctenosciara japonica, ecology, phenology, Japan∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗Immature stages of three species of the genus Sciara Meigen(Diptera, Sciaridae)Sutou, M.Plant Evolution and Biodiversity, Department of General Systems Studies, GraduateSchool of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo,153-8902 Japan (csutou@mail.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp)The family Sciaridae is a large family that includes approximately 1800described species worldwide. Recently, phylogenetic analyses of thegenera of this family and that of the superfamily Sciaroidea wereconducted based on the adult morphology (Menzel & Mohrig, 2000;Vilkamaa & Hippa, 2004; Hippa & Vilkamaa, 2005). Ecological studieshave reported high abundance of sciarid larvae in terrestrial ecosystems,suggesting their functional importance in leaf litter decomposition intemperate forests (Hövemeyer, 1999; Sutou & Ito, 2005). To date,knowledge of the immature stages of sciarid flies is very scarce. Theexamination of the larval and pupal morphology of these flies willcontribute to both the systematics and ecology of this family. The presentstudy reports on the detailed morphology of final-instar larvae and pupaeof three species of Sciara: S. hemerobioides (Scopoli, 1763), S. humeralisZetterstedt, 1851, and S. helvola Winnertz, 1867. These species wereoriginally described in Europe and were newly recorded in Japan by Sutouet al. (2004). Sciarid larvae are normally devoid of body processes or setae,and the taxonomic importance of the structures of the head capsule andspiracles (prothoracic and seven pairs of abdominal spiracles) areemphasized here. Eight sensory pits of the frontal apotome and ten sensorypits of the genae of the larval head were numbered for comparison. Thearrangement of these pits shows several differences among the three250