Rioxa Explained

Rioxa is a genus of tephritid (fruit flies) in the family Tephritidae.[1] The genera Rioxa and related Hexacinia and Cribrorioxa are distributed in South and Southeast Asia from India and Sri Lanka in the west to the Philippines. Only a few species extend east of Borneo to New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago. Rioxa breeds on fallen logs inside forests.[2]

Male Rioxa sexmaculata display on suitable fallen logs with bark beetle holes by inflating pleural vesicles at the base of abdominal segment 5 and raising their abdomen and walk in circle around a spot. They are thought to exude pheromones which attract females. After copulation the male guards the female which lays its eggs in the holes made by bark beetles.[3]

Species

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Rioxa - Nomen.at - animals and plants.
  2. Hancock, David L.. An annotated key to the 'Rioxa' complex of genera (Diptera: Tephritidae: Acanthonevrini) . Australian Entomologist. 41. 1. 2014. 45–54.
  3. Kovac, D.. Dohm, P.. Freidberg, A. . 2010. Field observations on the mating behaviour of the Oriental Rioxa sexmaculata(van der Wulp)(Diptera: Tephritidae) and a review of the reproductive behaviour patterns in Acanthonevrini. Biosystematica. 4. 1. 5–14 .