Tiger Beetles: Part 1
Picture this: you're a caterpillar, looking for new vegetation to eat.
You spy some leaves just past a hole in the ground and make your way
over to them. Next thing you know you're being eaten by something so
fast you didn't even see it strike.
Tiger beetle larvae have an
intimidating appearance, particularly due to their powerful
sickle-shape mandibles. After eggs are buri
ed
by the female Tiger beetle, the newly-hatched larva begins to extend
and improve its burrow. It digs towards the surface, using its mandibles
to loosen the soil and its flat head to push soil out of the burrow
when it reaches the surface. Each larval stage the larva goes through (3
in total) is accompanied by increasing the burrow. Their flat armoured
head helps them blend in with the soil (though they sometimes hide deep
out of sight) and hooks on a dorsal hump keep them anchored in the soil.
Powerful mandibular muscles give their bite its strength and their
eyesight, unlike many grubs, is sharp and accurate.
When
something does come near the burrow, the larva launches itself towards
it at incredible speed - interestingly, usually throwing its head
backwards at its victim. The sickle-shaped mandibles sink in and its
prey (sometimes as big as it) is dragged down into the burrow. Larvae
have a similar digestive method to spiders, secreting enzymes to break
down food before actually eating it. When the liquidized prey has been
consumed, any indigestible remains are ejected from the burrow.
Photo credits: Ted C. MacRae (left), Ingo Arndt/naturepl.com (right).
To see larvae attacking caterpillars, click here: http://www.youtube.com/
http://drshigley.com/lgh/
http://insects.tamu.edu/
http://
http://www.buglife.org.uk/
David Attenborough's Life in the Undergrowth, Episode 4: Intimate Relations.
Tiger Beetles: Part 1
Picture this: you're a caterpillar, looking for new vegetation to eat. You spy some leaves just past a hole in the ground and make your way over to them. Next thing you know you're being eaten by something so fast you didn't even see it strike.
Tiger beetle larvae have an intimidating appearance, particularly due to their powerful sickle-shape mandibles. After eggs are buri
Picture this: you're a caterpillar, looking for new vegetation to eat. You spy some leaves just past a hole in the ground and make your way over to them. Next thing you know you're being eaten by something so fast you didn't even see it strike.
Tiger beetle larvae have an intimidating appearance, particularly due to their powerful sickle-shape mandibles. After eggs are buri
ed
by the female Tiger beetle, the newly-hatched larva begins to extend
and improve its burrow. It digs towards the surface, using its mandibles
to loosen the soil and its flat head to push soil out of the burrow
when it reaches the surface. Each larval stage the larva goes through (3
in total) is accompanied by increasing the burrow. Their flat armoured
head helps them blend in with the soil (though they sometimes hide deep
out of sight) and hooks on a dorsal hump keep them anchored in the soil.
Powerful mandibular muscles give their bite its strength and their
eyesight, unlike many grubs, is sharp and accurate.
When something does come near the burrow, the larva launches itself towards it at incredible speed - interestingly, usually throwing its head backwards at its victim. The sickle-shaped mandibles sink in and its prey (sometimes as big as it) is dragged down into the burrow. Larvae have a similar digestive method to spiders, secreting enzymes to break down food before actually eating it. When the liquidized prey has been consumed, any indigestible remains are ejected from the burrow.
Photo credits: Ted C. MacRae (left), Ingo Arndt/naturepl.com (right).
To see larvae attacking caterpillars, click here: http://www.youtube.com/
http://drshigley.com/lgh/
http://insects.tamu.edu/
http://
http://www.buglife.org.uk/
David Attenborough's Life in the Undergrowth, Episode 4: Intimate Relations.
When something does come near the burrow, the larva launches itself towards it at incredible speed - interestingly, usually throwing its head backwards at its victim. The sickle-shaped mandibles sink in and its prey (sometimes as big as it) is dragged down into the burrow. Larvae have a similar digestive method to spiders, secreting enzymes to break down food before actually eating it. When the liquidized prey has been consumed, any indigestible remains are ejected from the burrow.
Photo credits: Ted C. MacRae (left), Ingo Arndt/naturepl.com (right).
To see larvae attacking caterpillars, click here: http://www.youtube.com/
http://drshigley.com/lgh/
http://insects.tamu.edu/
http://
http://www.buglife.org.uk/
David Attenborough's Life in the Undergrowth, Episode 4: Intimate Relations.
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