How do mosquito larvae catch prey? Their heads.
Predatory aquatic larvae are fast enough to be visible with the naked eye in swift attacks. They measure approximately 0.75 inches (2 cm) in length and launch their heads towards their victims like tiny Harpoons, high speed film footage shows.
Researchers filmed three generations of larvae during a decades-long study. Mosquitospecies as they ate prey. These findings were published in the journal on October 4, 2012. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, revealed that two of those species – Toxorhynchites inensisAnd Psorophora ciliata – could launch their heads to snap up a target meal in about 15 milliseconds.
Surprisingly, researchers also discovered that speedy prey nabbing can also occur in Sabethes cyaneusA mosquito species where the larvae are mostly passive filter feeders.
Lead study author said, “They were using siphons to snag larvae of prey and draw them into their gaping mouthparts.” Robert HancockA professor at the Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Department of Biology, “That was one those, ‘I cannot believe this; it is amazing’ moments.”
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Hancock first observed this blink-and-you’ll-miss-it hunting prowess decades ago during a medical entomology class he attended as a grad student under study co-author Woody FosterHe’s currently a professor emeritus at The Ohio State University in Columbus in the Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology.
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This class includes: T. amboinensis larvae responded to prey, students watched the larvae under a microscope – or at least they tried to.
“We all witnessed a blur. Then we saw a captured larva being shoved in the mouth by a predator. Hancock said that was all they saw.
It would take over 20 years for the next step to be realized: finding out what predators were doing and how.
Hancock and his coauthors began filming experiments. T. amboinensiThe following is a list of. P. ciliataIn the 1990s, the US military used the fastest optical system available: A 16-millimeter film camera.
After adapting the camera to film through the microscope, the study authors held prey larvae in their hands with jeweler’s gloves to tempt the predators. Finally, the researchers captured footage at 340 frames per sec (fps).
Hancock explained that the predators would usually make a small body movement when they were introduced to prey. This signal would be sent to the researchers to tell them it was time to press the shutter on the film camera.
“Body arching, head twisting”
According to the study authors, larvae launch their heads with thrust from accumulated abdominal pressure. Then, a bunch of bristles that look like fan-like bristles spread around their heads into “basket-like” arrangements that help sweep prey towards the predators’ sharp-toothed jaws.
P. ciliataThe study found that strikes are most commonly made in a straight-ahead, axial-linear fashion. T. amboinensis“Often involved a great deal both of body arching as well as head twisting.”
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“All scientists get excited about their discoveries, but this kind of science – these visual discoveries – are special,” Hancock said.
But T. amboinensisAnd P. ciliataLarvae are active predators and scientists wondered if species that combine hunting with filter-feeding might use similar strategies.
The funding for the project ran out, and the project was put into hiatus until 2020. This allowed the researchers to return to the original question.
They used a high definition video camera that could shoot up to 4352 fps. S. cyaneusLice in specially-designed “arenas of death” for larvae.
They also saw a predatory action in which larvae used their tails quickly to sweep prey into their mouths. This was not something that was previously known. Hancock stated that hunting with tail sweeps was as fast as the head-launching strikes and was “spectacular”.
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Once S. cyaneusThe study found that the larvae gripped its victim and opened and closed their mandibles so that the serrated teeth could be pierced by the prey.
Hancock stated that future studies will explore the commonality of harpoon-headed hunting, tail sweeping and mosquito lineage. Hancock suggested that he would “get my cameras on as many mosquitoes possible” to determine this. “There’s more to the story.”
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This article was originally published in Live Science. Please read the Original article here.
