Distinctive hydrocarbons of the black dump fly, Hydrotaea aenescens (Diptera : Muscidae)

Hydrotaea aenescens (Wiedemann), the black dump fly, is a potential biologi cal control agent originally from the western hemisphere, now found in many parts of the Palearctic region except for the United Kingdom, where it can not be imported for any reason. A complication of classical biological cont rol is the problem of strain identification, as one must be able to somehow mark or follow a particular strain that has been introduced into the field or is contemplated for release. Gas chromatographic analysis of the surfac e hydrocarbons of pooled and individual dump fly adults resulted in reprodu cible hydrocarbon patterns that differentiated widely distributed strains o f H. aenescens and showed similarities between strains that were related. S exual dimorphism was observed in the surface hydrocarbons. Conspecific simi larities included identities of the hydrocarbons found in colony material c ollected worldwide, with differences being found in the quantities of compo unds present. Published 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.