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Posted by Dmitry Gavryushin on 18-04-2006 16:10

Could anyone please suggest family?

Size around 8mm. A number of these larvae were found on April 16, 2006, under bark of a big dead Salix.

I'm not even sure where the head is, it made some orientation movements with its narrow pointed end (or were these respiratory?).

Location: Naro-Fominsk, Moscow region, Russia.

Edited by Dmitry Gavryushin on 18-04-2006 16:10

Posted by Kahis on 18-04-2006 16:37

Hi.

The pointed end is the head. IIRC this is a Muscid larva (in rotten wood, classical maggot-shape, posterior spiracles dark & close to each other). I'm sure Iain or Paul will soon correct me and tell us why it is something else

Posted by totipotent on 21-04-2006 14:24

Kahis wrote:

I'm sure Iain or Paul will soon correct me and tell us why it is something else

Kahis,

I don't think you have anything to worry about - it's a Muscidae.
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Black wrote:

I'm not even sure where the head is, it made some orientation movements with its narrow pointed end (or were these respiratory?).

Black,

Nice observation work; The narrow end is the "head." Brachycerans flies don't have a head capsule, like Nematocerans do. Nematocera and Brachycera are suborders to the fly order, Diptera. The black things at the tip of the "head" are mouth hooks. the picture of the fat end shows both posterior sets of spiracles.
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Posted by Kahis on 21-04-2006 16:47

I forgot to praise Black for the photographs. Well done! The combination of side & posterior view show all important details that can be seen from photographs. If only all larval pics were this good....

Edited by Kahis on 21-04-2006 16:47