Data from: Hoverfly locomotor activity is resilient to external influence and intrinsic factors

Hoverflies are found across the globe, with approximately 6000 species described worldwide. Many hoverflies are being used in agriculture and some are emerging as model species for laboratory experiments. As such it is valuable to know more about their activity. Like many other dipteran flies, Eristalis hoverflies have been suggested to be strongly diurnal, but this is based on qualitative visualization by human observers. To quantify how hoverfly activity depends on internal and external factors, we here utilize a locomotor activity monitoring system. We show that Eristalis hoverflies are active during the entire light period when exposed to a 12 h light:12 h dark cycle, with a lower activity if exposed to light during the night. We show that the hoverflies’ locomotor activity is stable over their lifetime and that it does not depend on the diet provided. Surprisingly, we find no difference in activity between males and females, but the activity is significantly affected by the sex of an accompanying conspecific. Finally, we show that female hoverflies are more resilient to starvation than males. In summary, Eristalis hoverflies are resilient to a range of internal and external factors, supporting their use in long-term laboratory experiments.

食蚜蝇（hoverfly）全球广泛分布，目前已记述约6000个物种。不少食蚜蝇已应用于农业生产，部分种类正逐步成为实验室研究的模式物种，因此深入探究其活动规律具有重要学术价值。与多数其他双翅目昆虫（dipteran flies）类似，管蚜蝇属（Eristalis）食蚜蝇长期被推断具有显著的昼行性，但该结论仅依托人类观察者的定性视觉观测得出。为定量分析食蚜蝇活动受内外因素的调控规律，本研究采用了运动活性监测系统（locomotor activity monitoring system）。研究结果显示，在12小时光照:12小时黑暗的光周期条件下，管蚜蝇属食蚜蝇在整个光照时段均保持活跃；若夜间暴露于光照下，其活动水平会显著降低。同时发现，食蚜蝇的运动活性在其整个生命周期中保持稳定，且不受饲喂日粮的影响。令人意外的是，本研究未发现雌雄个体间的活动水平存在差异，但伴生同种个体（conspecific）的性别会显著影响其活动。最后，研究表明雌性食蚜蝇比雄性更耐受饥饿胁迫。综上，管蚜蝇属食蚜蝇对多种内外因素均具有较强耐受性，这为其长期实验室研究应用提供了坚实支撑。