First record of phorid parasitoids (Diptera: Phoridae) of the leaf-cutting ant Atta bisphaerica Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Phoridae flies parasitize several ant species, including many Atta leaf-cutting ants. In this note, the attacks of three coexisting phorid species (Myrmosicarius grandicornis Borgmeier, Apocephalus attophilus Borgmeier and Neodorhniphora bragancai Brown) against Atta bisphaerica Forel workers in a pasture located in Vicosa County, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, are reported. The first two species of phorids are known to parasitize other leaf-cutting ants. N. bragancai, however, has been found only around A. bisphaerica nests. Each of these phorid species selects ants engaged in different tasks and oviposits in specific sites of the ant body.