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#larvae

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#Lauxaniidae (#Acalyptratae, #Diptera) are smaller #fly species that often prefer the proximity of forests. Their #larvae, as a #saprophagous developmental stage, feed on dead wood or other decomposing plant #debris. The author, C. H. Marchiori (2024), has #studied the #biology, morphology, and systematics of this and other fly taxa.

© #StefanFWirth Berlin 2025

Reference
C. H. Marchiori (2024)
doi.org/10.32388/LME4ON.3

Photo
Non determined #mating Lauxaniidae, Berlin, 2020-2025,© S. F. Wirth

The #antbagbeetle #Clytra laeviuscula (#Chrysomelidae, #Coleoptera) is a #phytophagous #beetle #species widespread in Europe with a #myrmicophilic relationship of the #larvae and #pupae to #antnests of the genera #Formica, #Lasius and Camponotus. The larva lives mainly from the food of the ant larvae. It is protected from ant attacks by own dropping pieces (#skatoconches). Pupation also takes place in this protected manner. #evolution #biodiversity

© #StefanFWirth Berlin 2024

The #clickbeetle #Agrypnus #murinus (#Agrypninae, #Elateridae) is #phytophagous as #adult #beetle, while the #larvae are soil dwellers and feed on roots, but also as predators, particularly targeting the larvae of other insects.
The species is #widespread in the Near East, the #easternPalearctic and the Nearctic realm. White and brown #scales give the species it's impressive look. The base color is darker. #Biodiversity #entomology
© #StefanFWirth Berlin 2024

Extremely well-preserved #fossil #sawfly sheds new light on co-#evolution of #insects and toxic plants phys.org/news/2024-10-extremel paper by Juanita Rodriguez et al.: resjournals.onlinelibrary.wile

"They eat the leaves of #Myrtaceae—woody #plants that include eucalypts—because they have mouthparts with which they can separate toxic oils or a chemical detoxification system inside their gut. This enables the #larvae, sometimes called spitfires, to use the oils as a defensive weapon."

If you need to know what mosquito larvae look like, here you go. These are probably Asian tiger mosquitoes. The different sizes are because they go through four larval instars as they age, followed by a pupal stage that doesn't feed. The youngest instar is barely visible even when you zoom the video. Some species take less than a week to mature into an adult, which is why you should dump containers of stagnant water every several days. #mosquitoes #larvae #diptera #insects #aedes

Sea urchin larvae can get nutrition from molecules dissolved in seawater oceanbites.org/whats-on-your-p

Integrative biological analyses of responses to food deprivation reveal resilience mechanisms in #SeaUrchin larvae onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10

"these #larvae feed on dissolved organic matter — basically just any of the organic goop found in #seawater... This way, even when regular food is unavailable, #SeaUrchins can gain sufficient energy from molecules in the seawater itself. The sea is soup."