Hermetia illucens and Hermetia fenestrata (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) Colonization of “Spoiled” Stingless Bee Geniotrigona thoracica (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Hives in Malaysia

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Since 2012, the stingless beekeeping industry in Malaysia has been booming and to date, there are more than 700 farms representing around 60,000 colonies. In 2019, a group of fly immatures were found in a decaying stingless bee nest. The species identification for adults and larvae was carried out by both morphology and molecular techniques. This study provides the first identified record of Hermetia fenestrata colonizing a “spoiled” stingless bee colony. The implementation of proper management of stingless bee farms and novel strategies in the prevention and control of Hermetia colonization should be further explored in order to maintain healthy bee colonies for mitigating losses. ABSTRACT: Meliponiculture, the keeping of domesticated stingless bees such as Geniotrigona thoracica (Smith, 1857) (Hymenoptera: Apidae), is an increasingly popular agricultural industry in Malaysia. This study reports the soldier fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) species of the genus Hermetia colonizing stingless bee colonies in Malaysia. The larvae were reared in the laboratory to the adult stage and identified through molecular and morphological approaches. Hermetia illucens (Linnaeus, 1758) and Hermetia fenestrata de Meijere, 1904 (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) were identified from the sample provided. Earlier records of stratiomyids in stingless bee nests were misidentified as H. illucens. This paper represents the first identified record of H. fenestrata colonizing a “spoiled” stingless bee colony. In addition, adult and larval morphological differences between both species and the roles of both species in bee nest decomposition are discussed.