Saturday, December 29, 2012

The aphid lion's den

There is so much to observe in the garden that it is easy to overlook small piles of debris stuck to leaves.  However, when a pile of debris begins wandering around on a leaf, it becomes much more noticeable!

* To see this video in high definition (1080p), you may need to (1) click "YouTube" to watch on the YouTube website and (2) change the settings at the bottom of the video screen.

In the video above, the pile of debris conceals a "trash bug" (the larva of a green lacewing).  If you watch closely, you can see the larva's legs and very large mandibles sticking out from underneath the debris.  Lacewing larvae are predators of many insect species and they use their large mandibles to pierce their prey.  Lacewing larvae are particularly known for consuming aphids, leading to their other common names "aphid lion" and "aphid wolf".  Here is another larva that I found roaming a bromeliad:

A green lacewing larva that has disguised itself as a pile of trash.
I have now found four of these "trash bugs" in the garden and each has had a different disguise.  The trash on their backs has included bits of plant material, tiny snail shells, and the shriveled bodies of insects.  These lacewing larvae have not been letting the leftovers of their meals go to waste, but have instead been using them to augment their camouflage.  However, not all lacewing species carry trash as larvae.  Those that do not carry trash look even more intimidating (see the photograph below).  In fact, I have read that lacewing larvae can deliver nasty bites to people, but I have not been interested in testing this myself.

A related lacewing larva (from this summer in Maine) that does not carry a trash pile.

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