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Lacewing larvae hatching

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Description

Taken at night in Singapore forest.

Larvae have either a more slender "humpbacked" shape with a prominent bulge on the thorax, or are plumper, with long bristles jutting out from the sides. These bristles will collect debris and food remains – the empty integuments of aphids, most notably – that provide camouflage from birds.

Eggs are deposited at night, singly or in small groups; one female produces some 100–200 eggs. Eggs are placed on plants, usually where aphids are present nearby in numbers. Each egg is hung on a slender stalk about 1 cm long, usually on the underside of a leaf. Immediately after hatching, the larvae moult, then ascend the egg stalk to feed. They are voracious predators, attacking most insects of suitable size, especially soft-bodied ones (aphids, caterpillars and other insect larvae, insect eggs, and at high population densities also each other). The larvae may also occasionally bite humans, possibly out of either aggression or hunger.[3] Therefore, the larvae are colloquially known as "aphid lions" (also spelled "aphidlions") or "aphid wolves", similar to the related antlions. Their senses are weakly developed, except that they are very sensitive to touch. Walking around in a haphazard fashion, the larvae sway their heads from one side to the other, and when they strike a potential prey object, the larva grasps it. Their maxillae are hollow, allowing a digestive secretion to be injected in the prey; the organs of an aphid can for example be dissolved by this in 90 seconds. Depending on environmental conditions, pupation which takes place in a cocoon takes about 1–3 weeks.
Image size
2400x1600px 851.76 KB
Make
OLYMPUS CORPORATION
Model
E-M10MarkII
Shutter Speed
1/160 second
Aperture
F/14.0
Focal Length
60 mm
ISO Speed
100
Date Taken
Jul 13, 2018, 10:07:17 PM
Sensor Size
9mm
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Comments3
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Woodswallow's avatar
This is incredible, absolutely stunning! You have a great eye for details :clap: