PUPATION IN MYCETOPHILID FLIES: 
A CORRECTION 
By William G. Eberhard 
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and 
Escuela de Biologia, Universidad de Costa Rica 
Ciudad Universitaria, Costa Rica 
In a previous paper (Eberhard 1970) I made several claims re- 
garding two species of the mycetophilid fly genus Leptomorphus: 1) 
the larval cuticle is not shed prior to pupation; 2) the last two and 
one half segments of the larva are discarded at pupation; and 3) the 
larval head capsule is engulfed by the pupa during pupation (Eber- 
hard 1970). Recent, more detailed observations of Leptomorphus 
sp. have shown that points 1 and 3 are probably wrong, and this 
note is an attempt to present a more accurate account of pupation. 
Observations were made during Sept. 1984 near San Jose, Costa 
Rica on larvae living on the undersurface of a fungus-covered 
board, where they inhabited silken sheets with slime trails similar to 
those of L. bifasciatus and L. subcaeruleus (Eberhard 1970). One 
observation of the process of pupation was made under a dissecting 
microscope. This larva hung on an approximately horizontal pupal 
line fastened at either end to a glass slide, and was observed from 
above (i.e. from the larva’s ventral surface); occasionally I tilted the 
slide so as to check the larva in lateral view. Species identification in 
the genus Leptomorphus is not presently possible (R. Gagne, pers. 
comm.); voucher specimens of adults reared from the larvae 
observed are deposited in the U.S. National Museum. 
Results 
The overall sequence of events was the same as that described for 
L. bifasciatus and L. subcaeruleus (Eberhard 1970) except that lar- 
vae were on lines for somewhat less than 24 hours before pupating. 
Although the head capsule was nearly engulfed by the swollen ante- 
rior portion of the larva’s body when pupation began, it did not 
disappear. Instead, as the anterior end of the animal’s body assumed 
Manuscript received by the editor October 2, 1985. 
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